Surrounded By Books
by Dantikat
Summary: Ren is a library attendant in the town on Oniyuri. Accompanied by Nora, and some other friends, life is perfect for the pink eyed young adult. However, when a girl moves into Oniyuri and takes interest in Ren's library, he realizes a factor is missing out of his life; Romance. Modern AU, Ninjas of Love, Slight use of OC's. Cover art by reveriesky over on deviantArt.
1. 1: A Chance Meeting

**Okay, first fic in this fandom, my blood is pumping at an extreme rate! This isn't a favorite ship, but it is one that I've always admired silently from a distance. I'm an avid shipper of Renora myself, but I can appreciate some tasteful Ninjas of Love every now and then.**

 **I know everything might not be on par with other fics yet, but I'm going to try my hardest to remedy that and make sure you all enjoy this! Without further ado, begin: Surrounded By Books.**

* * *

"Thank you. Have a nice day," Lie Ren called out as a young girl and her mom walked away from the counter. The girl turned back and waved at Ren, flashing him a bright, front-toothless smile. He smiled back, though not nearly as bright as hers, and waved as they walked out, the bell above the door ringing out as the door was opened and shut moments after. Ren's smile fell as he turned away from the door, going back to the mundane silence that he was accustomed to.

Ren had been working in this library-The Oniyuri Atheneum-for just over a year now. He'd long since grown used to the dull silence of the place. It was open from six in the morning to ten at night, and Ren worked for pretty much the entire day.

There was another attendant, a guy that Ren had become friends with, named Menta Mellontikos, but Ren preferred working most of the day. On the off chance that Ren was sick or couldn't come in for some reason, Menta filled in for him. They were similar in quite a few ways. The quiet, but serious and observing look in their eyes, the calm and serene way they carried themselves, and their ever-prevalent need for peace and quiet.

That last similarity is what lead the both of them to working in the library in the first place. It was quiet, as a library should be, and barely anyone showed up. Occasionally, there were children with their parents, but never anyone around their own age aside from Nora, and she barely ever stayed long, as she was much too loud to abide by the 'Please be quiet in the Library' sign. Nevertheless, she always brought some excitement to Ren's usually mundane day.

It wasn't exactly boring, as Ren loved working at the library, but sometimes the quiet could get overwhelming. Sometimes, Ren was lucky enough to have Menta around. They would talk about their favorite book series, their families, and occasionally, girls. Menta, like everyone, had made a couple of jokes about Ren getting together with Nora, though he never meant anything by it. Ren had entertained the jokes, once upon a time, but Menta eventually stopped making them as he realized they began to irritate Ren.

Instead, they would talk about the girls that came into the library. There weren't many, and Ren found it rude to talk about them while they were so close. Despite that, both Ren and Menta had found it to be quite fun. Menta had dared Ren on several occasions to try and initiate a confrontation, but Ren was quick to refuse. In his mind, he didn't have the capacity for romance and thought it to be a seamless distraction from the routine of his life.

Menta took some dares, though not all. He was very selective over the girls he chose to talk to, choosing not to talk to girls who were too loud, or to girls who walked or talked with an air of superiority. When Ren questioned him about it, Menta claimed that anyone who thought they were better than everyone else didn't deserve his attention. The other was more of a 'It's not very hard to follow instructions' thing that Ren figured made enough sense.

Ren sighed and leaned over the front desk. He was dressed casual, a pair of tan jeans, black sneakers, and a pale green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black back. His black hair was tied back in a ponytail, as it usually was, with his bangs and the pink section hanging just next to his pink eyes. Around his left wrist was a simple, leather bracelet studded with beads of different colors; a friendship bracelet Nora had given him years ago. Nora had one as well, wearing it around her right wrist. Aside from that, Ren didn't wear any jewelry.

He began to tap his foot against the floor, in hopes that he could at least have a little noise. Not soon after, another set of tapping feet joined his at regular intervals. He snapped his head over to the noise only to find Menta walking up from the back of the library. They had set up a 'front' desk in the back of the library for people who were too far from the front, and when Ren was up front, Menta was in the back.

Menta was just an inch taller than Ren, something that both young men had made jokes about. His skin was pale, like Ren's, and he had mint green hair that was black at the roots. It wasn't very long and just barely reached his chin, the longest parts being the bangs on either sides of his eyes. The rest came down in short spikes all around his head, and his eyes were the same pale mint green. He wore black jeans, black boots, a simple black muscle shirt that hugged his arms tightly, and a thin mint green hoodie with the sleeves cut off. Over his shoulder, he held his coat; a knee-length mint green duster. The edges were trimmed with gold; pale but still noticeable.

Throwing his coat over the desk, Menta leaned into the desk with his hands in his pockets and nodded to Ren. He nodded back.

"It's just about eight. You know no one comes in much after this," Menta told him while gazing up at the lights. Ren simply shrugged.

"But what if someone does this time? I need to be around just in case someone shows." Ren replied, staring forward at the copious rows of books ahead of him. Menta cracked a small smile at that as he finally diverted his attention to his fellow library attendant.

"I'm not going to argue with you, but when you sit here for the next two hours, bored out of your mind because no one else shows up, I'll take solace in knowing I tried." Menta sighed. He quickly pulled his coat on, the wide sleeves of the coat hiding his arms. From the pocket, he procured a simple pair of black gloves. Ren raised an eyebrow.

"I think you're a little overdressed," He commented as Menta pulled the gloves on over his hands. "After all, it's only Autumn." Ren cracked a smile as Menta pulled a childish pout.

"Hey, it gets colder at night. And I hate nothing more than cold hands." Menta replied defensively as he walked slowly over to the door. Ren chuckled and leaned up off of the counter to stick his own hands in his pockets.

"I can do nothing less than agree" Ren stated as Menta opened the door, the small bell ringing out in earnest as he did.

"Is Nora coming to get you again?" Menta asked. Ren shook his head.

"Not this time, I'm afraid. I'll lock up at ten and make my way home." Ren replied. Menta nodded, satisfied with his answer, and waved once more as he began his trek out of the library.

"Right then. I'll see you tomorrow. Night, Ren." Menta called out. Ren nodded.

"Goodnight, Menta." Ren stated, though he was sure Menta couldn't hear him at this point. The door soon shut, the bell dinging once more as it did, and then all was quiet once again. Ren's eyes stayed glued to the door for a short while, as Menta was prone to forgetting things sometimes, but after a couple of minutes, he had yet to re-emerge. Ren sighed and looked around the library from where he was.

It wasn't too big a library, but it certainly wasn't small either. The door was wedged into the leftmost corner, and directly to the right of the door was the front desk. It rounded back against the wall and continued all the way down to the end of the building. At both ends were small exits, manned with latched gates. From the front desk, nearest to the door where Ren stood, and forward were rows upon rows of books. Each row escalated some fifteen feet into the air easily, and books lined each and every shelf. Closer to the other end of the library were several round and long, rectangular and wooden, tables for lounging and reading. Up against the back walls were plush couches and love seats, while against the right wall were computers used as catalogs for the library or for anyone wanting to use one. The floors were dark green carpet, the walls a pale brown mixed in with bits of tan, green, and red at regular intervals. It was a little bland, but Ren had grown the love the place. He treated it as his home away from home.

* * *

Just about half an hour after Menta left, Ren found himself to be bored half to death. He looked around the library. Indeed, no one was around, and Ren figured it'd be the perfect time for him to catch up on some reading. He turned away from the front of the desk and dug underneath his coat-a simple black duster that reached just below his knees. Menta had always made jokes about Ren buying it because it was similar to his own.

Once he pulled his hand back, he held a hardcover book in his hand. It was dark, and a bit worn with age. The title was faded, but Ren had memorized it long ago; Ninjas of Love. It was a bit of a guilty pleasure of his to read, and none of his friends knew he read it. He could imagine, no, he could _feel_ the teasing if he'd ever gotten caught reading such smut. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it and it was one more secret his unbreakable facade could hide.

Reaching back and pulling up a small armchair, Ren sat down and flipped the book open to his bookmarked page. He could just as easily remember what page he'd been on, but he opted for dog-earring the corner of the page instead. It added character to the book. Nonetheless, he began to read, finding himself engrossed in the tales of the characters already.

Another half hour passed as Ren read, and the bell above the library door rung out as the door was opened. Ren, caught up in the book, didn't hear the bell. Or, he did, but his subconscious was diverted elsewhere. A subtle knock on the hard wood of the counter directed his attention back upwards, where a pair of amber eyes were locked onto the book in his hand. There was a slight moment of silence before the realization hit him.

Ren jumped to his feet and tossed the book off to the side. He memorized the page number beforehand, and as the book crashed to the floor, he felt a pang of regret. That was no way to treat a book. Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned back to face the one who had just walked in.

She was a bit shorter than Ren, maybe two or three inches, with long black hair that reached her shoulder in straight strands and amber eyes that seemed to pierce into Ren's mind. Her face was what other people told Ren he always looked like: a bit emotionless, but calm and collected. That was, until, she broke out into a small laugh. A pure sound that rang out in the empty silence of the library. A blush began to creep it's way up Ren's neck. He had been figured out.

"I-I, uh...damn.." He stuttered out. He was at a bit of a loss for words, and as she saw this, the girl began to laugh again, louder now but with the same serene sound as before.

"Sorry for my...lack of attention. I was...caught up in some reading." He finally managed out after a moment. She had finally stopped laughing, but the remains of a smile still hung on her lips.

"Don't worry about it. I can see that you were dealing with some very important issues." She retorted, pointing towards the book on the floor. Ren sighed as he bent down to pick the book up and stuff it back underneath his coat. He then waved his hand submissively at the girl.

"Ugh, I've been caught. That aside, can I help you?" He asked her, tilting his head as he did. He was eager to get off of the topic of his book. She hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, well. I hope, anyway. I just moved in a couple blocks down and this is the only library in town. I was hoping I could find something to read for a bit while I got used to the area, but I realized I didn't know when this place closed, nor did I even know what I wanted to read," She made unflinching eye contact with Ren as she spoke, an action that he returned in full. "I was hoping you could recommend me something, if that isn't too much of a task."

Ren tapped his chin a bit, thinking. It was only about nine, so he had another hour to burn until he had to close up the library. Time aside, Ren liked to think that he had fairly good taste when it came to novels. With a nod, he stepped out from behind the front desk and shut the latch behind him.

"Very well. What kinds of genres are you into?" He asked her as he began to walk towards the rows upon rows of books. She followed after him and he took a moment to drink in her appearance.

Her skin was as pale as his, her black hair and amber eyes standing out immensely because of it. She wore black jeans, black boots to match, and a dark purple turtleneck sweater. Over that she had on a small, black peacoat and black gloves. On top of her head sat a dark purple bow, tied up into perfection.

"Oh, you know, fantasy, general fiction, action, adventure, just about anything, really." She replied as she followed Ren. Her eyes were drawn upwards, gazing meaningfully at each and every book in the library. She was distracted so much that she didn't realize it when Ren stopped walking ahead of her. She bumped into his back, recoiling a foot or so back as she rubbed her nose.

"S-sorry, I was distracted by all the…" She waved her hand upwards and around, issuing towards the books. Ren smiled and looked up to his right. He had lead her into the fantasy section, as it was the first thing she said, and was looking for a specific title. Or, to be even more specific, a series.

It took him a while, but once he spotted the intricate pictures drawn on the spine, he knew that was it. Standing up on his tippie-toes, he reached up and plucked it delicately from it's place amongst the books. It was fairly thick and held a little weight to it, though it wasn't much.

"This should be good. It's your casual ancient prophecy and the chosen one type of story. It's based more around Greek mythology, but it's greatly enjoyable. There's an entire series after that book, and then a secondary series as well." Ren told her as he handed the book over. She nodded her head along and flipped the book over to read the back. Seemingly pleased, she looked back up at him and smiled.

"Thanks. I'll make sure to get this back as soon as possible." She told him as they headed back up to the front desk. Ren waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it. Take your time, I insist. A book is always more enjoyable when you don't have to worry about time and can just read." Ren replied as he stepped back behind the front desk.

"Well, I'll be sure to do just that then. I'll come back for the rest of the series later." She assured him as she handed over her library card. In truth, she had no idea if it'd even work because she was new to town, but apparently it wasn't an issue as Ren began to check it out for her.

"And I'll be here, waiting to see if you enjoyed the story," He typed into the console and finally handed her the book. "Afterall, there's even more fun in discussing a book after you've read it."

She smiled as she pulled the book back and held it up against her chest with one arm.

"I can do nothing less than agree with you. Maybe we can discuss it when I come back." She stated. Ren smiled back and nodded.

"I can see that being enjoyable. I'm Ren, by the way." He told her, jutting his hand forth for a handshake. She tightened her grip on the book and held out her other hand, eagerly shaking Ren's hand before stepping away.

"I'm Blake. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ren, but I've gotta run now. It is late, after all." She replied. Ren nodded and watched her leave, the bell ringing as she opened and shut the door.

Once again, all was quiet. Ren sighed, reaching into his pocket to check his scroll for the time. It was just barely nine twenty.

Deciding that he'd rather just go home than to sit around for another forty minutes, Ren began to close up. He shut off all the lights, and when the main console was shut down completely, he grabbed his coat and his book and exited through the front door. Slipping the coat on over his body, he quickly began walking down the street.

He didn't live very far from the library, which was a plus for him as it meant he didn't have to go far to get to and from work. After a short five or so minute walk, Ren found himself standing in front of his apartment. He sighed in relief as he pulled his key from his back pocket and opened the door. Immediately, his nose was met with the smell of food; noodles, beef, egg, and of course, pancakes.

He stepped into the warm air and shut the door behind him. Taking off his coat and putting it on the coat rack next to the door, he stood there a bit longer to take in the sight.

His apartment was modest, at the most. Stepping immediately into the living room, the kitchen was off to the left and down the hall on the left was his room, whereas there was another across the hall. Next to that room, on the right, was the bathroom. In the living room, it was very clear that Ren didn't live alone. The green couch, usually covered in nothing but gray pillows, had several books stacked atop it, alongside a small plushie of a sloth. Next to the couch, a similar armchair sat tilted towards the TV up against the wall on Ren's right side. Behind the armchair, up against the wall, was a tall bookshelf laden with books of different sizes and colors. Ren really liked to read, after all.

In front of the couches was a wooden coffee table, simple and surprisingly the cleanest thing in the room. The floor had scattered sheets of paper all across it, and each seat had been dealt with the same treatment. From where he was standing, Ren could see that each paper had an unfinished drawing on it; nearly unintelligible as it looked like a child had drawn them. Ren knew better though.

He carefully made his way into the living room, sticking his book back in it's proper place on the shelf before he quietly walked up and stood in the doorway to the kitchen. From there, he saw his best friend and roommate standing at the stove, flipping pancakes.

From behind, he couldn't make out much of her appearance. Her orange hair, short and cut to her shoulders, bobbed around as she danced from foot to foot. She seemed to be wearing one of Ren's shirts, evident by its green color and how big it was on her, paired with a white skirt of her own that reached to just above her knees. She wore no shoes, opting out for long white knee socks, and wore the only apron in the house. It was pink with white edges, and even though he couldn't see it, he knew it said 'Please Do Nothing To The Cook' on the front. It was his apron, after all.

Nora's head perked up all of a sudden, the one ear that Ren could see twitching. Moments before the impact happened, he braced himself. Ren was nothing if not prepared, and it was for good reason.

In a split second, Nora separated from the stove and rounded on him, her turquoise eyes shining as she took in his presence. That only lasted a second. After that, she threw herself, several feet, at Ren in a lung-crushing bear hug. If he hadn't prepared himself beforehand, he would've been thrown to the ground.

"Renny, you're back! I was starting to worry!" She cried out as she latched onto him even tighter. Ren, savoring the small amount of air he had left, simply hugged back and nodded. Only when she began to let up did he feel it was safe to talk.

"Yes, I'm back. I'm also early, if you'd check the time," He said, pointing to the digital clock they kept in the kitchen. It quite clearly read nine thirty. "I usually don't get back until after ten."

Nora put her hands on her hips. "Still! Menta called and said you'd be staying late again, but that just made me worry more!" She smiled at him, a bright, beaming smile that just made Ren smile in retaliation. "But it doesn't matter because you're here now! So come on, I made dinner."

She lead him back into the kitchen where she resumed flipping pancakes on the stove. Laid out on the counter was a bowl of noodles, fit with slices of cut beef and half an egg floating in the juice. Sitting next to it was a piping hot cup of green tea; Ren's favorite meal with his favorite drink. He noticed, though, that that's all there was. What would Nora eat?

He turned to ask her, only to be prompted into silence by a plate stacked high with pancakes. Ren had never taught her his super-secret special recipe, but that hadn't stopped Nora from trying. Every batch of pancakes was made differently; different flavors, shapes, fluffiness, everything. Nora never did get it right, though it still made Ren smile at her efforts.

Nora caught Ren looking and flashed him a beaming smile.

"I'm sure I've got it right this time, Renny! Taste the batter, tell me if I'm close!" She called out to him before going back to cooking. Ren shrugged and walked over to stand next to her. He took the bowl of messy batter and stuck his finger in it, tasting it as he watched her flip the pancakes. Nora stared at him with expectant eyes, just waiting to see what he would say.

After a moment, he put the bowl back down and crossed his arms.

"It's good," He started out, issuing a smile from Nora. "But it's not perfect."

Agitated just a teeny bit, Nora flipped the next pancake a little too hard. It went careening into the air and stuck onto the ceiling with a loud _SPLAT_. It was still in the process of cooking, so that wouldn't be coming down any time soon. Ren switched his gaze from the new ceiling ornament to that of his best friend, who looked down at the floor in shame.

"Sorry, I was just really sure of it this time!" She exclaimed, looking back up at him. Ren simply smiled and turned the stove off.

"You'll get it soon enough. Now let's eat, before the food gets cold, I appreciate the effort you went through to make dinner for me." He told her as he walked back and gathered up his food. Nora smiled after him and began struggling with the apron, eventually getting it off and grabbing her plate of pancakes, plus the bottle of syrup, and rushing to meet Ren in the living room.

By the time she had got there, Ren had cleaned off the couch, placing all the books on the floor next to the couch, and turned the TV on. Ren himself didn't watch TV that much, but Nora loved it, especially this one cartoon show. Ren never caught the name of it, but he always knew when Nora was watching it. It was evident by her loud screaming, urging the main characters on while bad-mouthing the main antagonist.

Together, they sat down and talked about their day. Nora had found a job at a pet store, where she would walk around and 'inspire' the animals, as she had put it, by playing with them and getting them riled-up so that they showed off some energy when people came into the store. Ren had visited her there on several occasions, either to see how she was doing, or to accompany her out on her lunch break.

Nora had begun telling Ren about how she had led a 'jailbreak' for the kittens, leading them around the store in a line for a couple of little girls who had been eyeing them.

"I wanted to show the girls how much fun kittens would be! I could see how much they wanted one, just by looking at their eyes, Ren! Their eyes!" She put extra emphasis on eyes while leaning out of the chair towards Ren while pointing at both her eyes. He began to laugh, then cough as he remembered he was eating food.

"Nora! Nora.., please, I want to live!" He jokingly called out as she continued to bounce up and down on the couch. She had long since finished her pancakes, devouring them almost whole like a human vacuum.

She finally settled down to a low bounce as Ren took a drink from his mug. "So? How was your day, Ren? Did anything exciting happen?" She asked him

Ren raised an eyebrow. "I work in a library, Nora. Things don't really get exciting there." She frowned.

"Well did anything out of the ordinary happen? Say like, someone leaving a strange briefcase, but when you opened it, it was full of money?!" She finished excitedly.

Ren smiled, stifling a laugh. "Nothing like that, but someone did show up after Menta left. That doesn't usually happen."

Nora began bouncing up and down in her seat again, like a mobile ball of energy. "Ooh! Tell me all about it, what did they look like, what did they want, who were they?!" She exclaimed, a big, bright smile on her face as she did.

Ren was worried that if he smiled anymore, his face might get stuck. " _She_ had just moved into town and wanted a book recommendation. Just something to read while she got used to living here in Oniyuri."

Nora mouthed out 'oh' and was silent for a moment before she perked up once again, eyes wide with realization. "Wait, she? Ooh, was she pretty? What color were her eyes, Ren, if she was pretty you'd remember her eyes!"

Nora tackled Ren's side, managing to just avoid his food, and pushed him into the arm of the couch. Then, silent and thinking for a moment, she took Ren's food from his hands and put it on the table before going back to her original assault; jumping on Ren and pestering him with questions.

Ren laughed, feebly holding Nora's wrists to her sides. It took a whole minute to calm her down, and even then, she wouldn't stop moving. She sat on her knees, facing him.

"So," She started out again, in a calmer tone. "Tell me about her."

Ren raised an eyebrow, holding his cup of tea in the palm of his hand. "Why?" He asked, taking a short sip.

Nora leaned forward, close enough to the point where their noses were almost touching.

"Because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! You said it yourself, people don't usually show up after Menta leaves," She began waving her arms and hands out in exaggerated gestures as she talked. "And then this pretty girl, I'm assuming she's pretty, walks in and you're the only one there! Maybe this is destiny, Ren!"

Ren waved her off and she slowly fell back into her seat. "Nora, it isn't that serious. Blake just wanted something to read and I helped her." He left out the part where he'd invited her back to talk about the book. He honestly didn't understand why he'd done it either, something had just told him to say it.

Nora jumped up again, and Ren was sure the entire couch would collapse eventually.

"Aha! Her name's Blake! So you _did_ talk to her then!" Nora acknowledged. "Tell me about her, Renny!"

Ren, realizing his slip up, opted to wave her away again, but it didn't work this time. She stayed pressed up, excited to no end. In the end, he caved.

"Yes, I had to talk to her to know what kind of book she wanted to read. Other than the fact that she likes fantasy and fiction, I can't tell you much about her." He replied. Nora was undeterred.

"What did she look like? If you remember her name then you remember what she looks like!" Nora argued back. Ren hesitated, something that Nora caught and she reached out to grab his shoulders.

"Tell me, Ren! This is important!" Nora began to shake his shoulders ever so slightly. Ren sighed and put his cup down. Using both hands, he eased Nora back into her seat.

"Relax, Nora. It's really not that big a deal." He stood, with his empty bowl and her empty plate and made his way into the kitchen. He had effectively quelled all attempts at conversation as he began to wash the dishes. Nora remained on the couch, a small pout on her face as she realized she wouldn't be getting her answers.

Not soon after, she felt a hand on her head and looked up to find Ren smiling down at her. Instantly, she beamed, a bright smile finding its way to her face as the two got up and got ready for bed. With everything turned off, the two split at the end of the hall to go into their separate rooms, but Nora caught Ren's arm and pulled him back out.

"Yes, Nora? What is it?" He asked as he looked down at her. She hesitated for a moment before grinning and reaching up to poke his nose.

"Boop! Night, Renny!" She exclaimed before stepping into her room and shutting the door. Ren merely smiled, turning around and walking back into his room, closing the door quietly behind him.

* * *

Hours later, Ren laid awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling in the dark. He had fought against his own thoughts at the time, but he had realized Nora was right. He remembered her face perfectly, but most of all. He remembered her eyes. Two orbs of almost golden amber, radiating against the inside of his skull as he attempted to go to sleep, but no avail.

Blake...he had remembered every subtle detail about her, and he was confused as to what that could've meant. Sinking back into his bed with his last attempt at sleep, he figured that only time would tell. 

* * *

**And that's that! Chapter 1, complete! Not gonna lie, I enjoy how Ren and Blake came out of this, but writing Nora is surprisingly harder than I thought it'd be. Maybe it's because I'm not energetic like her, but oh well. I'll get better at it, I promise.**

 **If you liked this, please leave a review, tell me what I could do better, give me some tips, or just talk with me. Anything is alright. If you REALLY liked it, stick around for the next chapter. I don't have a schedule just yet, but I want to try for a weekly thing.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	2. 2: Indecision

**Here we are, Chapter 2. I said last time that I wanted to do this weekly, but updates may be a bit sporadic, honestly. Nonetheless, I do plan on updating _at least_ once a week.**

 **That said, please enjoy; Chapter 2:** **Indecision.**

* * *

Blake was awoken by the thin rays of sunlight that shined through her window and directly into her face. Grumbling her displeasure, she burrowed her head into the underbelly of her pillow. She was most definitely not a morning person.

After a few more minutes of complaining under her breath, Blake finally emerged from her bed. Her hair was wild and unkempt, and her eyes were nearly bloodshot; the result of reading what she considered to be an amazing book until two in the morning. While it was a little cliche, what with the predictable-ness when it came to it's protagonists and the 'chosen one' mentality, it still managed to throw her for a loop a couple times, and Blake was thankful for that. Already, she was half-way through the book and she hadn't wanted to stop the night/morning before. The only reason she had slept at all was because her roommate had chewed her out for staying up so late.

Although the book was very good, it wasn't the only reason Blake had wanted to finish it. Yes, there was a certain amount of pleasure that one got when they finished a good book. Even then, that pleasure was only amplified when they got to _talk_ about said book, especially with someone whose company was enjoyed.

Despite the fact that they hadn't talked for very long, Blake had found that she enjoyed being around Ren. She had realized as much when she exited the library and had already missed the smile that had been plastered to her face when she was around him. At the time, she thought nothing of it. Everyone likes to smile, right?

However, once she actually got home, she saw that it ran a bit deeper. She would smile around her roommate, Weiss, because they shared a similar sense of humor. They didn't really have much in common, aside from their love of peace and quiet, and that was that. Blake had noticed, though, that she usually smiled out of dry humor with Weiss.

Around Ren, it was just because he was pleasant to be around. The same couldn't be said about Weiss, as she usually walked with an air of superiority that most people found of-putting. Blake did as well, initially anyway, and had gotten used to it. Ren had seemed so peaceful, so calming, so...

"You're thinking about that librarian again, aren't you?" Weiss called out from her right. Blake immediately snapped out of her thoughts and jerked her head over to gaze tiredly at the girl. Rubbing at her eyes, Blake swung her legs off of her bed and stood, stretching out all of her limbs as she did.

"Where'd you get that idea?" Blake asked as she ran her hands through her hair, smoothing it out as much as she could.

Weiss scoffed and leaned up against the door frame. "I don't know, maybe that dumb smile that was stuck to your face as you gazed at the wall," She replied, crossing her arms. "The same dumb smile you had on your face when you told me about him."

A sudden flash of red tinged Blake's face as she reached into her dresser to take out her clothes for the day. She hadn't realized she was spacing out, and if she _was_ smiling that hard..

Sighing, she quickly pushed the thought away and stood up, staring at Weiss in the door way.

Weiss was a short girl, about three inches shorter than Blake herself. She wore a white, thigh-high skirt with light blue lace lining the edges, and a loose fitting light blue sweater to match. Underneath she wore black leggings and white, knee-high heeled wedged boots. Her off-center ponytail hung limply over her right shoulder, accented by a sort of tiara resembling ice picks that held her hair up. The pale colors matched her pale complexion, yet it made her electric-blue eyes stand out that much more.

Blake raised an eyebrow at the girl, choosing to feign ignorance as she pushed past Weiss on her way to the bathroom.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Weiss," She started out, reaching the bathroom and setting down her change of clothes. "Are you feeling alright? Hallucinations are common amongst a number of sicknesses."

Weiss pursed her lips in a show of annoyance. "You're just going to pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, aren't you?" Weiss retorted, following just to the door and standing outside of it. Blake cracked a tired smile and nodded her head as she shut the door.

"Completely and wholeheartedly." Blake commented, shutting the door completely before Weiss could say something in retaliation. Turning away from the door, Blake eyed herself in the mirror. While she was no stranger to staying up late, she was surprised to see how heavy the bags under her eyes were. Sighing, she turned on the hot water in the bath and got ready to take her shower.

* * *

Half an hour later, Blake exited the bathroom feeling clean, refreshed, and full of energy. Her hair was washed and back in it's straight strands down to her shoulders. The bags under her eyes were virtually gone, and her eyes were full and alert.

Dressed now in a pair of blue jeans,a black sweater with black sneakers to match, and a thin, white overcoat that reached mid-thigh, and of course her bow tied to perfection atop her head, Blake made her way into the small living room of her shared apartment with Weiss. While it was more lush than most, it was nothing too special to look at. It was a mix and match between shades of white and black.

The floor was mostly white carpet, and the walls were the same pale white. Up against the far wall, adjacent to the door, was a flat screen TV, bordered by two tall potted plants. Across from the TV sat an oval-shaped, black metal coffee table, and behind that, a simple three-seated black couch with white pillows. Up against the back wall behind the couch, sat a simple black bookshelf, each shelf filled as much as possible with a modge-podge of books all of different colors and sizes. Off to the left of the living room was the kitchen, white tiled floors and white tiled walls accented with a mix of both white and black appliances.

It was monotone, it resembled a checkerboard, but for Blake: It was home, and she loved it.

She found Weiss in the kitchen, leaning against the black granite counter, looking at her scroll and sipping from a mug of coffee. Blake's nose scrunched up as she smelled it; Black, the only way Weiss drank it. How she drank it like that had always evaded Blake; as well as why she drank coffee in the first place. Shrugging the thought from her head, figuring it was just personal preference, Blake pulled her own mug from a cabinet and began to brew herself a mug of chamomile tea-her favorite.

The two sat in comfortable silence, Weiss texting someone as she drank her coffee, and Blake humming quietly as her tea brewed. At one point, Blake managed to glance over at Weiss's scroll, managing to spot a rose icon before looking away. With her back now turned to Weiss, she let a small smile slip onto her face. Weiss as texting Ruby, her girlfriend of some five months now. Blake had met her on several occasions, whether it was Ruby visiting their apartment, Weiss bringing her over, or just running into her on the street. The younger girl was energetic, boisterous, and very loud, the exact opposite of what she thought Weiss would be into.

Assumptions aside, Blake could see easily that Ruby made Weiss very happy. Weiss always had these barriers up; a way of keeping people out. When Ruby was around, Blake could _see_ those barriers fall to pieces. Weiss smiled more, she laughed more, and she was much more comfortable around people than she usually was.

Blake couldn't say she was the greatest of friends with Ruby, but she had opened the girls eyes to a couple of fantasy series that the girl seemed to love. That alone was enough for Blake to be comfortable around her. That, and anyone who made Weiss so happy was a great person in Blake's book.

Once Blake's tea finished brewing, she grabbed her mug, balancing it on her palm and holding the side with her other hand, she turned around to face Weiss. Taking a deep whiff, smiling in the delicious aroma of honey and vanilla, she turned to Weiss.

"So, what do you plan on doing today?" She asked, leaning back against the counter. "Got a date planned with Ruby?"

A blush crept it's way up Weiss's neck as she adverted her attention from her scroll to the girl in the kitchen with her. Clearing her throat a couple of times, she nodded.

"Yes. Ruby invited me over to her place to watch movies and such," She effectively drained her mug, turning to the sink to begin washing it out. "It's safe to assume I won't be back until late."

A mischievous grin spread across Blake's face, yet it was quickly hidden as she brought her mug up to her mouth for a quick sip. Afterward, she raised an eyebrow at Weiss, lowering her mug to show off the grin she'd adopted.

"Oh? What raunchy and heated plans have you and Ruby made, hm?" She deadpanned. The look of pure embarrassment of Weiss's face was enough to make her continue. "Oh, I can see it now. Rose petals scattered across the floors, candles lit, soft and soothing music playing in the background. Then there's Ruby, laid out amongst more rose petals, covered in nothing but-Mm!"

Weiss, sputtering over her words and failing to find a reply, quite simply shoved her hand over Blake's mouth, effectively ending her detailed explanation.

"I-I swear, y-you..you..!" Weiss started, her face turning the brightest shade of red Blake had ever seen. Blake stifled a laugh, but found it to be extremely hard to hold in and fell to her impulses. She feebly pushed Weiss's hand away as she fell back to the counter, conscious of her mug, and began to laugh at full blast. Weiss, resembling a ripe tomato, tossed her off-center ponytail over her shoulder and stormed out of the kitchen, furiously texting away on her scroll as she walked into the living room. After another minute of laughing, Blake calmed down enough to retake her mug in both hands and follow Weiss into the living room.

The both of them sat atop the couch, Weiss all prim and proper with her back straight and such, and Blake much more relaxed, like a lanky cat out in the sun. She had slipped her shoes off, revealing simple black socks underneath, and had her back against the arm of the chair, her legs spread along the length of the couch mere inches away from touching Weiss, though her knees were bent to stave off the physical contact.

Balancing her cup in her palm and holding it steady with her other hand, Blake took a short sip of her tea before re-directing her attention back to Weiss, who was still texting her life away on her scroll. Every time she stopped, there was a brief, ten, maybe fifteen second pause before her scroll pinged, issuing a response from Ruby. Blake would never really get over how fast the two of them could text. Compared to Blake herself, they were moving at the speed of light.

Finally, with one last ping, Weiss sighed and slipped her scroll into the pocket of her skirt. She stood, briefly trying to smooth out her loose sweater, but to no avail, and made her way to the door. Weiss looked back to Blake once more, waving ever so slightly. Amber eyes met piercing blue and the two silently bid their adieu's, Weiss slipping out of the door quietly and Blake nodding as she did.

To anyone present, it would've seemed like Weiss was festering over Blake's teasing. In reality, the two of them had a comfortable way of addressing their farewells, usually leaving it to a silent nod and confirmation in return. It was unorthodox, but it worked for them, and there was no point in fixing something that wasn't broken.

After a minute of Blake simply enjoying the serene quiet in the apartment, she set her mug down and stood up, stretching lightly and making her way to the bookshelf. She would have just gone back and retrieved the book Ren had recommended for her, but she wanted to savor the ending for a bit longer, and decided she'd finish it later. Instead, she glanced across the entirety of her vast collection. The bookshelf was primarily hers, though there were a few books of Weiss's and one or two of Ruby's, but most were Blake's.

She had set the bookshelf up in alphabetical order based on the first word in the title, excluding 'the' and 'a'. Scanning the bookshelf with her eyes, amber orbs flitting from spine to spine, Blake finally settled on a book with a primarily black and red cover. She gripped it in her hands, and a slight string of red flashed across her face as she remembered Ren reading this exact same thing the other day. She had poked fun then, but if he knew she'd shared similar tastes, the teasing would never end. Or, maybe they'd talk about it, the same way they would talk about the current book. The idea made the blush already present on Blake's face rear it's head and up the intensity.

Her face, now a deep shade of pink, had a dumb smile plastered to it; the telltale sign that she had Ren on the mind. Of course, she didn't realize this, and after a moment of thought, standing in front of the bookshelf and clutching _Ninjas of Love_ to her chest, she shook her head to banish her wandering thoughts, and made her way back to the couch.

Plopping down comfortably in her spot, she brought her knees to her chest, mainly to have somewhere to place the book, but also to hide the cover in case Weiss or Ruby barged in unexpectedly. It had happened before, and thankfully Blake had developed hiding places within, under, or behind the couch just in case.

Quickly flipping to her bookmarked page, ever so prevalent by the dog-eared corner, Blake delved into the raunchy, heat-filled exploits of the characters and their..'trials', so to speak. Every so often, her face would hike up red at the explicit detail of a certain passage, or at a steamy scene that had her wishing she'd opened a window to let in the cool Autumn air. Other than that, she stayed relatively still, resembling a statue as she read.

In her mind, she had realized she had no right to make fun of Ren for reading the story. It was...intriguing, to say the least, and Blake was probably more into it than he was. She was, indeed, a massive hypocrite. But, she'd save her apology for whenever she went back to the library. A part of her wondered if she should bring him something as well, a sort of token of peace. The question was, though, what would she bring? Weiss had often told her she made really good brownies, but seeing as they'd spoken to each other for barely a minute, that seemed a bit much.

As Blake continued to read, her mind went elsewhere, thinking up things that she could give to Ren. It was a wonder that she could multitask so efficiently.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, she had the perfect idea. Blake quickly dog-eared her current page and pushed the novel back into it's place on the bookshelf. Then, silently pulling her shoes back on, finishing off her tea, and grabbing her peace offering, Blake exited the apartment, mindful to turn everything off and shut the blinds before she did. She locked the door behind her and began the short trek to the library.

* * *

Just about twelve minutes later, Blake arrived at the entrance to the library. With her gift held tightly to her chest with one arm, she took a deep breath before pushing the door open and walking in. She was met with the ringing of the bell, a low yet shrill tone that was actually quite endearing to hear, and the stiff smell of weathered pages and fresh pages alike. It was comforting.

The library was just as empty as it was the day before, and Blake found that she'd preferred it that way. It was nice and calm, just the way a library should be.

Remembering what she was there for, Blake walked slowly into the library, the door shutting quietly behind her. She craned her neck, peering forward and to the right to check and see if Ren was at the front desk. Spotting a head of dark hair and a section of pink amongst the black, Blake smiled and walked a bit more confidently up to the front desk. Ren stood stock-still, impeccable posture, with his eyes shut. Blake slowed to a halt in front of him, her amber eyes searching his face as he stood. He was breathing at short intervals, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through his mouth. Blake realized he was meditating and took a step back, eager to make sure she didn't interrupt.

He was dressed simple, yet still stylish in a sense. It complimented his tall and lean form. Blake could see black jeans, and what looked like simple black sneakers, though she couldn't be sure. He wore a pale pink t-shirt that, if Blake remembered properly, matched his eyes. Below that, she could see the collar of another shirt, simple and black and most likely long-sleeved. Over both shirts he wore a cardigan, primarily black but with a pink lotus etched over the heart. It looked specially made, and Blake wouldn't be surprised at all if Ren had done it himself. He struck her as a man of many talents. Around his wrist, she spotted the same leather bracelet from the day before. She assumed it held some significance of sort.

Blake sat in silence, watching Ren as he meditated. It was a little weird to do so, but she was entranced, somehow. He seemed so at peace, and Blake had never seen someone meditate standing up and without moving so much as a muscle. Blake had attempted meditation before, and while she could sit still just fine, her mind often wandered, making it difficult for her to focus.

After a minute or so, Ren's eyes opened up ever so slightly. Blake smiled, pleased to see that her memory of his eye color was spot on. Once his eyes fell upon her, a slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. After opening his eyes completely and taking a deep breath, he nodded in her direction.

"Blake. What a pleasant surprise," He said, his voice monotone and calming. "I hadn't expected to see you again for some time." Blake noted that he didn't sound particularly bothered by this.

"Well, I wanted to come and...," Blake faltered a little. She had really come just to talk to Ren again, but admitting that made her mind run wild with brazen possibilities. "..Thank you again for the recommendation. I'm loving the book so far."

Ren smiled, showing off the creases around his eyes and cheeks. He must smile a lot, Blake thought to herself.

"That's wonderful to hear. It's one of my favorite series, truth be told, and I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it," His eyes flitted down to the package she was clutching to her chest. He raised an eyebrow but opted to say nothing. Blake caught his gaze and a small grin graced her face.

"You have excellent taste then," She replied quietly before jutting her hands forward, offering him her gift "Also, I wanted to make a brief apology. For laughing yesterday, that is. About the...you know, the...the book." She settled on. Admittedly, talking about that series in general always made her a bit sheepish. Talking about it in public was just downright uncomfortable. Luckily for her, Ren seemed to pick up on it, though his eyebrows raised in surprise nonetheless.

"I appreciate the gesture, Blake, but it's not needed, really," A blush started at the base of his neck, but it was well hidden by his cardigan. He leaned slightly forward and lowered his voice a considerable amount. "After all, I got caught, didn't I? That was my own fault, and the repercussions that followed were of my own mistake."

Blake was surprised at his modesty, though she had no idea why. She had suspected he'd say something along the lines, but she pushed forward a bit more.

"I insist, Ren, really. I felt a little bad about laughing outright about it," She admitted. "And, I felt the need to repay you. After recommending such a good book, I figured I would try and return the favor." She pressed the hardcover book into his hands, letting her own hands linger for a moment before she pulled them back, holding them stiffly at her sides.

Ren took the book, albeit skeptically, and studied the cover. When he read the title, his eyes widened just a bit.

"This...this is..," He started out, his voice rising with obvious disbelief. Blake smiled, happy to see that her choice had paid off. It was a well known fact that only the first issue of _Ninjas of Love_ had been released in the states. American fans were stuck with just re-reading the first, only to be met with the same cliff-hanger at the end every time. Blake, however, had friends in other countries, where both the second and third issue had been released as well. In her possession, she held a copy of both and decided to gift the second issue to Ren.

"The second issue." She confirmed with a nod and a sheepish grin.

Ren was, momentarily, speechless. After a moment, he looked back to Blake, a smile plastered to his face.

"This is...an amazing gift, Blake." Their eyes lingered on one other for a moment, silence passing between them as the two were caught up in waves of golden amber and serene pink respectively. Ren cleared his throat.

"I hope you don't plan on letting me have this. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that's the case." He stated bluntly. Admittedly, Blake was perfectly fine with letting him keep the book, but she shook her head.

"I wouldn't want that to happen, now would I?" She replied with a slight chuckle. "Think of it as a loan. When you're done, maybe we can talk about it together." She offered, her face taking on a pinkish-reddish tone as she did.

Ren's face took on the same tone, but he smiled, his eyes twinkling for a moment before they shut completely. He answered when he opened his eyes once more. "I'd enjoy that immensely, Blake. Just so you know, I read fairly quick. That day might come much quicker than you'd think."

Once again, a sheepish smile spread across Blake's face and she nodded slowly. "I can find no issue with that. Honestly, I want the day to come sooner," The red in her face picked up once again. "I look forward to it."

Another moment of silence passed between them, with both parties just simply observing the other. Ren stood as still as he did before, yet his breathing was more obvious and a smile was more or less glued to his face. Blake bounced from foot to foot periodically, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Her face, while still pale, held an ever-prevalent blush across her cheeks and nose. Despite that, she also had a smile plastered to her. Once again, they found each others eyes and took immense relief in one another.

That is, until the bell above the door rang out, jarring the both of them from their thoughts. Blake jumped, and then immediately chided herself for such and fell back into a still position. Ren's ears perked up, and his head tilted ever so slightly. Aside from that, he was as still as before. Blake turned, spotting a woman and her young daughter walking into the library. The little girl was beaming, grinning from ear to ear, and her mother was the same, yet she held a finger up, gesturing to be quiet. The girl obliged with a smile, turned to wave at Ren, and then ran off to the children's section with her mother in tow. Blake turned back to Ren, tilting her head and gesturing to the young girl.

"You seem to be quite popular." She said with a hint of humor. Ren smiled in retaliation and shrugged.

"She likes how tall my friend and I are. She likes to imagine we can hold up the world," His hands clasped behind his back, he tilted his head again. "It's kind of cute, actually."

Blake stifled a laugh. "That's adorable. Where is this friend of yours?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Ren lifted a hand, pointing a single finger to the back of the library.

"Menta stays at the back desk when I'm up front. We switch every other hour, and he should be there now." He replied, his hands resting protectively over the book on the counter.

"Oh, like divide and conquer. He's closer to people in the back and you're up front, that's smart," Blake commented, clasping her hands in front of her. She had an inkling feeling that she was beginning to over stay her welcome, and as such she began to back slowly towards the exit. Ren noticed and frowned but said nothing. Blake didn't see him, as she was still looking away towards the back where she could caught a glance of a head of mint colored hair before it disappeared.

"Well, I-I've distracted you long enough. I'll get back to reading that book so that we can properly talk about it," Blake stated, a little upset that she was cutting it short. In fairness, she wanted to stay and just...talk to Ren, to learn more about him and piece together how his mind worked. However, she was afraid she was becoming a nuisance. Ren opened his mouth to argue but bit his tongue and fought back a reply. Instead, he nodded.

"Very well. Until our next encounter then, Blake." He said, flashing her a carefree smile. She grinned back, waving at him as she exited the library. The bell dinged, ringing in her ears as she was met with the chilled wind of Autumn, and continued to radiate inside her skull as she walked away down the street, her face as red as blood and her hands on her cheeks, as if her continuous rubbing would make the color go down.

* * *

Hours later, sitting in the living room with her knees to her chest and Ren's book, titled _The Lightning Thief_ , sitting close to her face, Blake lounged around, reading and re-reading each and every passage. She had finished the book an hour or so after she'd gotten home, and since then she'd re-read it twice already. It was dark outside, yet Blake hardly noticed, the book in front of her taking up the vast majority of her attention.

The door to the apartment opened and Weiss stepped in slowly. She was clearly exhausted, though from what one could only assume. She shut the door behind her, and leaned back against it with a sigh. It took her a moment, but she noticed Blake, sitting up in the couch with her back against the arm of it. It hadn't seemed like Blake had noticed her yet, either. Sitting on the coffee table was a half-eaten plate of tuna and steamed vegetables, next to that a full cup of chamomile tea, now gone cold.

Weiss frowned. She couldn't remember the last time Blake hadn't finished off any tuna; mainly because there _wasn't_ a last time. It'd never happened before. That quite clearly meant Blake was dealing with something serious at the moment, and unfortunately, Weiss felt like she knew what it was.

"This librarian is really getting to you, isn't he?" She asked aloud. Blake flinched at her voice, looking up and finally realizing Weiss was _actually_ there. She'd been so wrapped up in the book and her thoughts that she had failed to hear a thing around her.

"Ex...excuse me?" She asked tiredly. Her voice was hoarse and she croaked out her words; as if she hadn't spoken in forever, which she kind of hadn't. It'd been a couple hours, after all. Her eyes were red and her hair was a mess, though there was no way she'd be able to tell. Weiss, however, saw and despised it.

"I've never seen you so..., Weiss struggled a bit, flailing her arms out in search of the right word but failing in the process. Instead, she just pointed at Blake. "Look at you! You're a mess and you didn't even finish eating!"

Blake glanced down at herself, and then at her unfinished food on the table. Once she began re-reading the book the first time, she had forgotten about her food, as she was keenly trying to pick up anything she missed at the beginning, just to make sure she'd know what she was talking about. She looked back up at Weiss, a bit bashful.

"Maybe I could use a shower...but right after this chapter." She stated, her eyes drifting back down to the page. Weiss groaned aloud. Marching her way around the back of the couch, she deftly plucked the book from Blake's hands, holding it high over her head. Blake groaned in annoyance and reached up to grab the book but found she was too tired to continue through with the motion.

"No. You will shower right now. I'll make dinner so you can actually eat, and then you're going to sleep." Weiss stated, implying that there was no room for argument. Blake began to protest but quickly realized it was futile. Mumbling her annoyance, Blake stood up from the couch, stretching out her limbs and listening to the satisfying _POP_ when she stretched out an especially tense limb. Weiss began to push her towards the bathroom, but before she could get there, Blake spoke up.

"So how was your night with Ruby?" She asked. Weiss slowed to a halt, a blush struggling it's way up her neck. Curse her pale complexion. Blake looked back to look over Weiss's appearance, surprised to see that her clothes were rather roughed up and that her sweater was actually backwards. Blake, while still tired, mustered up a mischievous grin.

"Oh, I can see it now. It was amazing, wasn't it?" Blake continued. Weiss, her mouth hanging agape and her face as red as a fire truck, simply shoved Blake into the bathroom and pulled the door shut before Blake could go on. Laughing quietly to herself, Blake turned the hot water on.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Blake and Weiss sat down in the living room, silently eating their dinner. Blake, dressed in her simple black yukata ready to sleep, and Weiss, dressed in a pale blue nightgown with her hair down. Both had a plate of the same thing Blake had neglected to eat hours earlier; tuna and steamed vegetables. This time around, Blake showed little to no restraint, and in just a few minutes, her plate was picked clean and she was leaning back against the couch. Weiss eyed her for a moment before turning to face her.

"Are you going to do something about this?" Weiss asked her. Blake, surprised at the unexpected question, slowly sat up, an eyebrow raising in question.

"Do something about...what?" She retorted, resting her hands in her lap. Weiss held up Ren's book, pointed to it, and then to Blake.

"This! This thing with this librarian, what are you gonna do about it?" Weiss asked once more. Blake opened her mouth, but she hesitated. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do. In place of an answer she shrugged. Weiss glared at her and pulled her arm down, setting the book the fair distance away from Blake, lest she get any ideas.

"I've decided I'm going to help you, then," Weiss stated. Blake perked up and began to protest, but Weiss shushed her. "I refuse to take no for an answer. You're obviously smitten with him, and as your friend, it's my job to help you."

Blake was silent for a count of six seconds before she tilted her head. "I...thank you, Weiss. But, I...i-it's not that big a deal, really."

"I begged to differ. I've seen you read quite a lot, but never like this. To the point where you can't even _hear_ me come into the apartment," Weiss's eyes locked onto Blake's for a moment, and then a small smile found it's way to her face. "This is serious, and I refuse to let you do this alone."

Blake, while surprised and confused alike, let a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Quickly standing and stretching, she nodded to Weiss.

"Well, good. And, thank you, again, Weiss," She fixed the robes of her yukata, tightening it around her waist. "We'll talk about it in the morning over breakfast. Let's get some sleep."

Weiss nodded and stood, taking both girls' plates and taking them into the kitchen to clean. Blake took the moment to snatch Ren's book up and stash it in the robes of her yukata, holding it close to her chest as she walked off and into her bedroom. Weiss soon followed, and the girls shared a simple farewell as they separated off into their respective bedrooms. The light in Weiss's room soon clicked off, and Blake's followed, yet a smaller light clicked on in it's absence.

With her back against the headboard of her bed, Blake cracked open _The Lightning Thief_ once again, a small flashlight in one of her hands, and began to read. This time, however, she took the time to savor the words, to pay attention to what the book was portraying in her mind. She didn't rush through and force the knowledge into her head. She steadied herself, enjoying the read while taking short mental notes on the most important bits, or things that interested her in the first place.

 _This was how it was supposed to be read_ , Blake thought to herself. _This way, the discussion will be even better._

* * *

 **And there we have it, Chapter 2 complete. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll try to get the next one out soon.**

 **If you enjoyed it, please leave me a review! No matter how long or short, anything and everything is appreciated.**

 **Until next time, Dantikat out.**


	3. 3: Weekend Plans

**Here we are, Chapter 3. I'm happy to say that I've come to a consensus when it comes to uploading and will be keeping a schedule now! I plan to update twice a week, Tuesday and Saturday(by American standards). That said, this update is a day early, just because I wanted to make sure people knew. Next update will be this Saturday, March 11th.  
**

 **That said, please enjoy; Chapter 3: Weekend Plans**

* * *

It was another three days before Blake came back to the library. Ren didn't question it much, as her departure the day before had seemed rather brash. He assumed it just meant she had something to do and wrote it off as unfortunate ending.

She didn't come back the next day, and that was to be expected. Sitting in the library, Ren had engrossed himself in _Ninjas of Love: Issue Two_. His initial surprise that Blake held, and probably read, the illusive second issue had long since dispersed. Instead, he was enamored that they shared similar reading preferences, even if it was something like _Ninjas of Love_ , the connection was still there.

The two days after that were relatively uneventful. Ren and Menta switched between the front and back desk like usual. Emily, the young girl from before, came back and expressed her interest in the both of their heights. Menta played games with her when he could, and sometimes read to her. Ren sat, reading _Issue Two_ , and occasionally going over his knowledge of _The Lightning Thief_ , despite the fact that he'd read it over twenty times.

The fourth day, a Thursday, when Blake came back, Ren was at the back desk. It was similar to the front, but it was small, just barely eight feet across and about four feet forward from the wall. He was seated in a wooden chair with green and red cushions, his feet kicked up over the edge of the desk. He was in the process of reading _Issue Two_ and a personal copy of _The Lightning Thief_ sat on the desk mere feet away.

Even from the back of the library, what with how quiet it was, Ren could hear the bell above the front door dinging out as the door opened and shut seconds later. Glancing up from his novel, He could see straight up to the front where Menta was standing. Two girls stood across from him, one wearing mostly white with a long white ponytail to match, and the other wearing black and red, with black hair with bright red tips.

Ren couldn't hear what they were saying, thankfully as he would've felt bad for eavesdropping unintentionally. Ren quickly turned his attention back to the book in front of him. Whatever the girls wanted, Menta was more than qualified to help them out.

There was a low tapping; footsteps on the carpeted floor. Normally, that wouldn't phase Ren, as it just meant that there were more people in the library. He looked up once again, expecting to see the two girls up front making their way to the back of the library. However, they were still there, their backs turned to Ren as they talked with Menta.

Confused, Ren pulled his feet off of the desk and sat forward. He looked over to his left, near the reading section. No one was there. He then looked over to his right, towards the copious rows of books. At first, no one was there either. Then, a figure, clad in black and dark purple, waltzed out from between the bookshelves and right over to Ren.

She wore a pair of black jeans and black, mid-calf high wedge boots. A dark purple sweater, adorned with a familiar black pea coat and a bow tied upon her head finished off Blake's appearance as she walked up to the back desk where Ren sat. She held the copy of _The Lightning Thief_ in one hand and waved to Ren with the other. Ren smiled and waved back.

"Hello, Blake. It's been a bit, hasn't it?" He stated as he pushed his chair up, straightening out his back as he did. She nodded in agreement, the bow on her head tilting ever so slightly as she did.

"It has. I finally finished reading your recommendation and figured I'd take you up on your offer from before," A small smile tugged it's way upwards at the corner of her lips. "Talking about the book, I mean."

Ren smiled in retaliation and stood from his seat, stretching ever so slightly as he did. He wore a pale green turtleneck sweater, a pair of black jeans and black boots to match with the same cardigan from their last encounter.

"That sounds wonderful. Do you want to relocate to the reading area? It's much more spacious." Ren offered, turning to look at her as he asked.

Blake nodded and stood next to the latched gate at the end of the desk. Ren, grabbing his copy of the book, exited through the gate and ushered her over to the back right corner of the library. There were rows upon rows of assorted tables, all either circular or rectangular. Each table had at least two cushioned chairs sitting around it, some having up to five.

Ren lead Blake over to a circular table closest to the wall and pretty much deep in the corner. Both chairs were an arms reach away from each other, set just in front of the corner, facing outward where they could see just about all of the library from there.

Ren sat down first, placing his book on the table, and gestured towards the other chair. Blake soon sat next to him, placing her own copy of the book down as well.

"Firstly," Ren started off, placing his hands on the table and crossing one over the other. "How did you like the book?"

Blake hesitated, not exactly sure which words to use. After a moment, she nodded, seemingly pleased with herself. "It was amazing. I love how the characters were portrayed and how accurate the references to Greek mythology were."

Ren nodded, his smile elongating into a thin grin. "I do as well. I especially liked how the personalities of the Gods corresponded with their powers." Ren tilted his head, issuing a grin from Blake as well.

 _This..,_ Ren thought as Blake went on to talk about which character she liked the most so far. _This is nice..._

* * *

Menta squinted his eyes, staring off into the corner of the library, where he could quite clearly see Ren and some girl chilling out in the back, talking. He couldn't hear what they were saying, as they were much too far away, but he could see their lips moving and caught sight of the occasional smile, grin, or laugh cross either of their faces. They way they were talking to each other made it seem like they'd known each other forever, but Menta was certain he'd never seen the girl before in his life.

Across from him, the two girls were latched onto the same scene. The one in white, Weiss he remembered from them talking earlier, had a small, confident smile on her face as if she was admiring the best work she'd ever done in her life. The other, Ruby, had a large, beaming grin on her face, and every now and then, she would lean into Weiss's ear and whisper something, turning the other girl's face red only if momentarily.

Weiss sighed and leaned ever-so closer to Ruby, just to the point where the both of their heads touched. Their hands were clasped together, fingers intertwined, and had been since they walked in earlier.

"Oh Blake..." She murmured, eyes still locked on the sight before them. Then, something in Menta's head clicked into place. He snapped aloud, jarring the attention of the two girls in front of him. Despite the grin on his face, he managed to keep his voice low.

" _That's_ Blake? Oh, Nora was right, she _is_ pretty." Menta commented, his eyes drifting from between Blake and Ren. Weiss looked up at him. He was a lot taller than the both of them were.

"What? Are you saying you know Blake somehow?" She asked quietly. Ruby was leaned into her shoulder, her large silver eyes boring into Menta's own mint green irises. Menta shook his head.

"No, I've never seen her before today. I know _Ren_ though," He replied, resting his head on one fist. "Nora, his best friend, texted me a couple days ago, saying something about a girl named Blake who had come into the library after I left one night. I had never seen her, so I've been keeping my eyes open lately."

He began nodding his head, shutting his eyes in acceptance. "Now that I know what she looks like, my job's even easier."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "What job? Do you and Nora have a plan or something?" She asked. Menta lifted his head up and nodded, using one hand to sweep his hair back.

"Since Nora isn't around Ren on any regular day, it's my job to be his wing-man. Nora wants to set Ren up with Blake." He responded. Ruby's eyes widened and her grin grew wide.

"Weiss is doing the same thing!" She realized how loud she was and risked a glance over to the corner. Ren and Blake were still talking. They hadn't heard a thing. Ruby cleared her throat.

"Weiss agreed to do the same thing. I'm here for insurance." Ruby finished. Menta sat up from the desk, holding himself up on both palms.

"Oh? So, Ruby, right?" He asked to make sure. She nodded. "Do you know what I'm thinking?"

Ruby's eyes widened in realization and her grin beamed up even stronger. Weiss looked between the two of them, confused as to what they meant.

"What?" She asked, skeptically eyeing both of them. "What are you thinking?"

Both Menta and Ruby turned toward her at the same time, beaming grins gracing both of their faces. Weiss tentatively took a step backward, though her hand was still entwined with Ruby's, making it difficult for her to get any distance.

"We team up." The both of them said simultaneously. Weiss began to get nervous at the pure _excitement_ she could see in both of their eyes. Ruby only ever got like that on rare occasions, though she was extremely positive all the time anyway. Menta, on the other hand, was an enigma, as they had just met. He seemed much calmer when they'd first walked in, but now...she was skeptical, to say the least.

"Yea. I can handle Ren here at the library, and any other time out of the library, Nora and I can handle him." Menta started. Ruby picked up where he left off.

"And we can watch Blake! You've got her at home, and any time we go out, we can handle her together!" Ruby began to jump excitedly from foot to foot. "It's perfect!"

Weiss tapped her chin, thinking for a moment. It _was_ a pretty decent plan, to say the least. The only thing she was really worried about...

"What about Blake? She's expecting us to help her here, we can't just veer off the track." Weiss stated. Ruby slowed to a halt and rubbed her chin. Menta did the same before perking up.

"Just don't tell her," He figured. Weiss looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "You can still help her, but direct _most_ of your attention to the plans we make together. Help her in the most minimal sense possible, just enough so that she doesn't get skeptical."

Ruby began to grin again, and turned to Weiss, squeezing her hand a little. "See? Menta's got all the right ideas! Remember, it's all to help Blake!" Ruby proposed.

Weiss sighed and squeezed Ruby's hand back, looking between the two of them. "Okay, sure. It's all to help Blake, right."

Ruby, ecstatic and filled with joy, leaned forward and pecked Weiss on the lips. Usually, Weiss wouldn't have had a problem with this. But, this wasn't like usual. Firstly, they were in public. Secondly, they were in front of pretty-much a stranger.

Her face took on a bright tinge of red and she began to stutter over her words. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't form a coherent sentence. She glanced up to see that Ruby was beaming, a thin streak of red across her face. At the same time, she saw Menta off to her right, stifling a laugh. Weiss scoffed and leaned forward to flick Ruby's forehead.

"Dolt..." She said quietly. Ever since they'd started dating, the insult had become more of a term of endearment to the both of them. Ruby pouted for a second, but the her usual, beaming grin overtook her face once more. She leaned forward again, this time just nuzzling her face into the crook of Weiss's neck.

A chuckle to her right broke the moment, and Weiss looked over to see Menta, holding a hand over his mouth but making no actual effort not to laugh.

"That's adorable," He muttered out in between laughs. Ruby finally looked back at him, her face as red as the tips of her hair. At that point, Weiss gave up. She looped an arm around Ruby's waist and pulled her closer, holding onto her tightly. With her face still buried in the crook of Weiss's neck, Ruby let out a pleased sigh and made no effort to move herself in any sense.

Suddenly, Menta perked up and rapped the desk with his knuckles, pointing the two girls in Ren and Blake's direction subtly. Both Weiss and Ruby perked up to look over. The two had stood up, and were now making their way back to the back desk, where Ren moved to sit back behind it. Ruby suddenly jumped up.

"Oh, oh! That's our cue! We've gotta go now!" Ruby exclaimed, pulling her face from Weiss's neck. "Menta, quick! Give me your number so we can talk strategy!"

Menta complied, reaching beneath the front desk to take a scrap of paper and write out the seven digit number. "Good idea. I'll fill Nora in after you guys leave, we can plan something out for the weekend." He handed the paper to Ruby, who quickly stuffed it into her pocket. Weiss, curious, stopped Menta.

"What's Nora like? I imagine she's something like him," She pointed to Ren. "You know, all calm and collected and such."

Menta grinned, shaking his head. "You'd be wrong. She's kind of like...," He pointed to Ruby. "Kind of like Ruby, actually. Don't worry about it, you'll love her. Now get going, don't get caught now."

Weiss and Ruby complied and quickly left, hand-in-hand, the bell above the door ringing out and issuing silence as the front door shut behind them.

Menta sat down at the front desk, now complacent with the silence, and watched Ren and Blake all the way in the back of the library. He held his scroll up in front of his face, to hide that he was watching, though he was sure neither of them would noticed him anyway. They seemed happy enough just to notice each other.

* * *

It hadn't taken very long for them to discuss the entirety of _The Lightning Thief._ It wasn't that long of a book, and both Ren and Blake understood it enough to leave it at that. However, they still sat for an extra eight or so minutes, talking about other things instead.

Blake asked about Ren's life, working at the library, and about how he lived. She'd learned about his roommate, Nora, and shared laughs at her antics, especially at the story about the kittens that Ren had heard earlier that week.

Ren asked Blake similar questions. He learned about her roommate, Weiss, and about Weiss's girlfriend, Ruby. Blake went on to explain how fast Ruby could switch, from bouncing around like a child, to being more mature than Weiss could be in their relationship. She went a bit further and explained how she _really_ wanted to invest in soundproof walls for their apartment too, for when Ruby spent the night. Ren decided to move onto different topics.

After moving from the reading section and retreating to the back desk, the two were caught in a comfortable silence. Ren had long since taken off his cardigan and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. Blake had done the same with her pea coat, opting to keep her sleeves down. Ren looked up at Blake, as he sat, and thought of something.

"Say, Blake. There's this...cafe I find myself going to every Saturday. It's nice and quiet. A swell place to read, actually," He started, his gaze shifting around the library, landing on random titles as he continued. "What I'm getting at here is...would you like to accompany me to the cafe, this Saturday?"

Blake was taken aback by the offer, and while she most definitely wanted to accept, her mind wandered. A cafe, someplace outside of the library, where he worked. Would this...would it be a _date_?

Ren's eyes found their way back to hers, calming pink searching and sifting through radiant amber for an answer. For a moment, they sat in silence, eyes locked onto one another. Then, as if it hadn't fazed her, Blake nodded, a line of red angling it's way across her cheeks and nose.

"Y-yes, I would...I would enjoy that quite a bit, Ren." She finally answered, tearing her gaze away from his to inspect the wall. Man, that was an interesting wall.

Ren smiled, his own face taking on the same hue as hers, though he quite clearly wasn't as fazed. Or at least, he didn't let on that he was just as, if not more, fazed.

"Good, that's...that's good to hear," He stood up and reached beneath the desk, pulling out a copy of the next book in the series, _The Sea of Monsters._ "It's a date then. I figured you'd want the next book in the series so, here you are."

Blake staggered, though she quickly caught herself by reaching forward and grasping the edge of the book lightly. There was no strength behind her movements, and as such the book was held up in the air, equal parts by both Ren and Blake at that point. The tips of their fingers were mere inches apart. Blake then went in to give him back the copy of _The Lightning Thief_ , but Ren stopped her.

"You can...you can keep the books as I give them to you. Think of it as...payment, for wonderful evenings like this." He said with a smile. Blake recoiled, taking both books in her hands and clutching them to her chest. A thin grin fell upon her face.

"I...th-thank you, Ren. This...means a lot to me," She reached up with one hand to brush away stray strands of hair. "I only wish I had some way to pay you back then." A slight laugh ended off the end of her sentence. Ren shrugged and balanced himself up on the desk on his palms.

"You pay me enough with your company, Blake. That is all I can hope to ask of you." Ren replied almost instantly. Blake was slightly enamored. He managed to come up with replies that...that just made her feel like her mind was going blank all over again. It was intoxicating.

She took a tentative step back. "Well, I'll make sure to keep it up then," She glanced behind her, where she could see Menta, Ren's co-worker and friend, sitting at the front desk, face buried in his scroll. She turned back to Ren.

He was looking up at her, a smile stuck to his face. "Would you mind meeting me here, then? Just outside the front of the library and we could walk over to the cafe then." He added. Blake's reply came in the form of a stiff nod. She didn't trust herself much to talk, and instead opted for holding out her empty hand, gesturing for a handshake.

Ren's smile picked up into a small grin and he complied, their hands lingering together a moment after the shake. Blake pulled away first, much to her own displeasure, and held her arm at her side.

"I-I'll see you Saturday, Ren." Blake stated as she took a step backwards. Ren nodded his agreement and fell back into his seat, watching Blake as she turned and walked away to the front

She nodded curtly at Menta, who raised a hand in farewell, as she walked out the front door and began her trek home. It had gotten a little dark, and the wind picked up and began to whip through her body. It chilled her to the core, yet Blake brought her hand up to her face, just staring at it. It was still warm; hot, even. The warmth spread through her body and resonated with her soul as Ren's words played back through her head.

 _It's a date then._ Blake's face took on that same warmth, and then some, as she rested her heated hand against her cheek. _A date._

* * *

 **And there we have Chapter 3. I'll make sure to keep track of my own writing schedule from now on, and hopefully the extra time will help me make these chapters better than they are.**

 **As always, leave a review if you'd like. Anything you have to say is important to me and I'd love to hear from you guys.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	4. 4: Meetings Held

**Right on schedule. I've had the last two days off due to some pretty bad winds out here. Nothing too bad where I live, but it's been horrid in other places. I'd like to apologize briefly for the shortness of the last chapter. I felt like dragging it on would kill a bit of the mood, so I allowed it to be a bit shorter than the others.**

 **Ah, I'll cease my rambling. Enjoy Chapter 4: Meetings Held**

* * *

The next day, Ren was at work at the front desk of the library, like always, when the odd colored pair came back. It took him a second to realize, mainly because when they showed up the first time he had been distracted by Blake, but he refused to let his surprise take over his face. The library was seeing a lot more action lately, for some odd reason.

The two girls, one clad in blue jeans and white sneakers with a white blouse and light blue sweater, and the other in dark jeans, black and red boots paired with a simple red pull-over hoodie with back sleeves, came up to the front desk without a word and stood in front of Ren for a moment. The one in white had piercing blue eyes that would've unnerved anyone-that is, except Ren, as he'd lived with Nora for years now. The one in red had large gray, almost silver, eyes. She seemed to be distracted, maybe by her own mind, as her eyes constantly drifted back and forth across the room, yet they always landed back on one thing: Ren.

It didn't take him very long to realize they were studying him, however it only begged the question of why. Before yesterday, he had never seen them before, and even then, he didn't even talk to them. Menta did. He tilted his head, taking a moment to collect his thoughts and actions before he spoke.

"Welcome. I noticed the two of you here yesterday. Do you need assistance with anything?" He asked them quietly and calmly. He had no need to raise his voice, as it was far too early for anyone else to even be in the library. Menta himself had only shown up five minutes prior to the girls appearance, and he'd seemed rather... _off_ , to say the least. Much more excited than Ren had ever seen him, but he dismissed it off as a simple mood change. Menta was prone to those on rare occasions.

The girl in red spoke up first.

"Yes! Or, I hope so, anyway. Firstly, I'd like to ask if a book is here," She started. She moved a lot when she talked and just _oozed_ with excitement. She reminded Ren of Nora, just replace Nora's orangeish-red hair with black and red tips and it'd be pretty close.

Ren nodded and stepped to the side to open up the library's catalog.

"That should be an easy feat. Do you know the name of this book? Maybe the author's name?" Ren asked as he brought up the directory. The girl tapped her chin, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. The other girl, clad in white, pouted at her, a stern expression on her face.

"Did you forget the title of the book, Ruby?" It was stated as more of a sentence than a question, like this happened on a regular basis, though Ren could hear no maliciousness in the girl's voice. More like...admiration.

Ruby's head bobbed back up, looking to the other girl for a moment before a large sheepish grin broke out across her face.

"Maybe? Don't worry about it, Weiss! I'll remember in a second, just...gimme a minute." Ruby replied. going back to tapping on her chin as if she was breaking into a vault, that which held the title of the book she desired. It was then that something in his mind clicked into place.

 _Weiss...Blake's roommate, and Ruby. Weiss's girlfriend._ He hid his surprise behind a small smile.

"Take all the time you need, please. I'm in no rush." Ren told the both of them. Ruby looked up at him with a smile and went back to thinking. Weiss looked up as well, and the hardness in her face died off a little, though she still held the same stern expression.

Smoothing out her sweater, Weiss looked back up at him.

"Well, while she does that. I was hoping I could find your friend, the other library attendant. Is he in today?" Weiss asked him. Ren raised an eyebrow but quickly dismissed his own wandering thoughts. They _had_ talked to him yesterday, and Menta sometimes had a way with words, albeit very rarely. Ren liked to think it was because he didn't try, but he had never proved it. Ren took on another small smile and nodded.

"He is. I could bring him up to the front, if you'd like?" Ren stated. Already, he had begun to move to the latched gate over to his left. Now, with his hand poised over it, he looked back to the girls with an eyebrow raised in question. Ruby was still deep in thought, bobbing back and forth on the balls of her feet. Weiss was looking down, yet after a moment she looked back up at nodded stiffly.

"Yes, that would be optimal, thank you." Ren nodded once more and unlatched the gate. He quickly made his way out from behind the desk, shutting the gate behind him and starting off on the short trek to the back desk.

"I'll be just a moment." He told the girls as he walked off. He looked back once, for no real reason, and caught sight of Ruby leaning forward to peck Weiss on the cheek. It took him another moment to see the couples' hands held tightly together, fingers entwined. His smile stretched into a thin grin as she turned back around and continued on into the back of the library.

Menta had his feet kicked up over the edge of the desk, the same way Ren did when he sat in the back. He was dressed casual, like always. Ren wondered if he even had anything formal.

He wore simple black jeans, paired with all black hi-top sneakers and a long-sleeved, all white button up shirt. It was buttoned completely up, save for the last one at the top, and he wore a pale mint green sweater on over that, the cuffs of the sleeves and the collar pulled out over the sweater. His hair was tied back in a small ponytail, leaving a small section of bangs just over his left eye, and he wore a pair of thin, wired-framed glasses. Ren had only ever seen him wear his glasses on rare occasions, so something was definitely up today.

Menta's eyes shot up to meet Ren's as he neared the desk. Pulling his feet away and scooting closer to the front, Menta smiled up at him.

"Hey Ren. To what do I owe the honor?" He quoted sarcastically. Ren smiled and crossed his arms.

"You've got visitors, Menta. Lovely young couple, Ruby and Weiss," Ren stated. "They're standing at the front, waiting for you. I told them I'd bring you forward."

Menta, if it was possible, sat even further forward, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Are they really?" He asked. Ren nodded, folding his hands behind his back. Menta stood up quickly, his knees scraping against the underbelly of the desk.

"Damn, they're early. Ren, I hate to ask, but d'you think you could take over for an hour or so?" Menta asked, placing both palms down on the desk. Ren, eyebrow raised in confusion, simply nodded.

"Of course. I can handle the serenity for an hour while you handle your business," Ren stated. "Speaking of, if it's not too rude to ask, what is your business? You met these girls yesterday, didn't you?"

Menta raised an eyebrow in question.

"Where'd you get that idea from?" He replied, stepping out from behind the desk and shutting it. Ren noted that he didn't exactly argue against it, but he gave Menta the benefit of the doubt.

"Just a thought. Come along now, they're waiting for you." Ren said, turning to walk away without waiting any longer, Menta's footsteps falling in behind him in a span of seconds.

Coming back to the front, Weiss and Ruby were stuck in a quiet conversation. Ren could clearly see their lips moving, but he couldn't hear a word they said. Even then, once the girls noticed them, they fell silent. Ren noticed that Weiss had lost her stern expression, her face as red as a tomato. She held her cheek with her right hand, a bright silver bracelet lined with red and white gemstones linked around her wrist.

Ruby's face was just as, if not more, red as her counterpart's. Around her left wrist, she wore a matching bracelet. Ren smiled, stepping up and out of the way as Menta walked forward to greet the girls.

"I've retrieved him, as asked," Ren stated, standing off to the side. He turned to Ruby, raising an eyebrow in question. "Did you remember the title of the book you wanted?"

She immediately perked up, bouncing up to the tips of her toes.

"Yea! It was called _Warbreaker_. A friend of Weiss's recommended it to me and I figured I'd give it a chance." She replied in earnest. Ren tapped his chin. He had read _Warbreaker_ on numerous occasions, yet it's position in the library's copious shelves evaded him sometimes.

"Hm..It's a wonderful book and I know we have copies of it here. I'll get looking for one and bring it back as fast as I can. I would hate to keep you any longer than needed." Ren answered finally. Ruby simply nodded her consent as Ren walked off, down another row of bookshelves to locate the illusive _Warbreaker._

He knew that it was a fantasy story, a serious tale of romance, adventure, and betrayal. Delving into the Fantasy section and immediately making his way to the end of it's alphabet, Ren began to search earnestly through the _W's_ list. The next letter was an A, so of course it'd be near the front. However, Ren looked over said section several times and hadn't seen _Warbreaker_. With a slight frown on his face, he moved to the Adventure section. He repeated the same movements, and his eyes finally fell upon a worn dark blue spine with the words _Warbreaker_ etched in gold down it's side. With a satisfied nod, he plucked the book from the shelf and made a small show of patting it down. It was far from dusty, as it was a popular book that many seemed to enjoy.

Now, with the book under his arm, he returned back to the trio at the front of the library. Menta and Weiss were having a quiet conversation that seemed like it was close to jumping to an argument. Ruby stood off to the side, Weiss's hand still entwined with hers, balancing herself on one foot, as if she couldn't sit still. When she heard Ren's footsteps coming back, however, she jumped up in excitement, whipping Weiss around a little as she did.

Ren, with a small, thin, smile plastered to his face, stopped just short of the girl and handed the book over to Ruby, who looked at it with big silver eyes as if it contained the answer to life.

"I hope you enjoy it, Ruby. I like it myself quite a bit." He told her. Ruby's eyes shot back up to him and a grin enveloped her face.

"I'm sure I will! Thanks, Ren!" She exclaimed. Now, with both hands on the book, Ruby had separated from Weiss. Weiss took the freedom to cross her arms over her chest.

"Yes, well. We'd better get going," She said calmly. Unfolding her arms just as quickly as she'd folded them, Weiss snatched up one of Ruby's hands in her own and backed towards the door just a bit. Menta leaned up off of the desk and nodded. Weiss then turned to Ren, a small smile on her face. "Thank you for your help, Ren. We'll be sure to get out of your hair now."

Ren waved his hand dismissively as he rounded the desk, coming to a halt in his usual position behind it as the gate shut behind him.

"It was my pleasure. I wouldn't mind the company, in all honesty, but you seem to have pressing matters of your own," He glanced up to Menta, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to meet Ren's eyes. "Go now, please enjoy your outing. I'd hate to keep you too long."

Weiss, with a curt nod and a wave, turned on her way out, dragging Ruby along with her. The girl struggled for a bit but managed to wave with the book in her hand.

"Bye Ren!" She called out as she exited through the front door. Menta was last, who smiled and waved back at him as he disappeared out the front door of the library. After the initial ringing of the bell subsided, Ren was left in the silence and tranquility of the library. Sighing, he pulled _Issue Two_ from underneath his coat and sat down, intent to finish it before Saturday reared it's head.

* * *

"Ren is a pretty nice guy." Ruby commented from her side of the table. After leaving the library, Ruby, Weiss, and Menta had met up with Nora, who was excited to meet the girls, and made their way to a bakery/coffee shop that Ruby had recommended.

Now, sitting outside the shop at a small circular table, the four were making plans. Weiss and Ruby sat together on one side, their hands forever entwined and on the top of the table for the world to see. Menta and Nora were on the other side, Menta with his hands in his pockets and looking off down the street, and Nora leaning forward onto the table, her elbows perched on the table and her hands keeping her head up as she sipped from a long straw.

Nora had gotten a chocolate milkshake, and was currently sipping it down slowly as she was deep in thought. Menta had a cup of Oriental green tea, topped with mint leaves for flavor. Next to that on the table was a small napkin, a blueberry scone with light glaze sitting atop it, both untouched. Ruby was holding a large strawberry milkshake in her free hand, the straw stuck firmly between her lips. In front of her on the table was a plate full of chocolate chip cookies. Just minutes before, it had been a mountain. Now, it was more like an ant hill. Weiss sat with a simple white mug of coffee that she had yet to touch.

At Ruby's words, Nora nodded, sipping from her straw some more before replying.

"He is! He's a super nice guy, and that's why we gotta help him!" She exclaimed, sitting up and pounding her hand on the table. Menta's cup shifted and he reached out to grab it, pulling it away from the table as it rocked side to side. Weiss did the same with her mug. Menta took a sip from his cup, nodding at the taste and smell.

"Nora, calm down," He said, placing his cup gingerly back onto the table. "That's why we're here; to help him."

"Menta is right. We've formed a committee of sorts to get Ren and Blake together. Now, we need a plan for tomorrow." Weiss said, stilling holding her mug tightly. She took a slow drink from it and placed it back on the table, albeit a little hesitantly due to Nora.

Nora raised an eyebrow, her hands pulling back from the table and Weiss let go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Why tomorrow? Ren doesn't work on Saturdays." Nora asked skeptically. Ruby perked up, snatching a cookie from her plate and devouring it after placing her milkshake down on the table.

"Because Ren invited Blake out to a cafe tomorrow," Ruby answered, snagging another cookie and biting into it. "She told us yesterday after she came back from the library."

Nora's eyes widened and she leaned forward. "You mean like a date? Not a friend date, though, like a date-date?" She asked. Ruby shrugged and Weiss shook her head.

"I don't think it's a date-date. They're meetings have usually just been to discuss those books he's been recommending her. It could just be a friend thing." Weiss replied, smoothing out her sweater as she spoke. Menta shook his head at that, though, and placed both his hands on the table.

"I feel like it's not a friend thing, though. Did Blake mention any specifics about the cafe?" He asked. Weiss shook her head once more. "Hm. Ren just sort of disappears on Saturdays. If we ever ask him where he went, he just says he went out to read."

Ruby cocked her head to the side, staring at Menta. "Well, Blake mentioned a cafe. Maybe Ren just goes to some cafe every Saturday and he plans to whisk Blake away for an evening of secrecy."

Menta tapped his chin. After a moment, he nodded. "That's pretty damn romantic. Sounds like something out of a book, and everything Ren does and says sounds like it comes from a book," He took a moment to take a bite from his scone and wash it down with tea. "It's pretty smart, now that I think about it."

Weiss scoffed and threw her ponytail up over her right shoulder with her free hand. "That's preposterous. Who would fall for those convoluted schemes that pop up in romance stories." She commented. Ruby shrugged, nudging her shoulder.

"You've gotta remember Blake's never been in a serious relationship or anything. All she _does_ is read stories and stuff like that," Ruby told her, grabbing another cookie and tossing it into the endless abyss of her own stomach. "To answer your question, _Blake_ would fall for those convoluted schemes."

Nora took a long, loud sip from her milkshake. Menta cringed at the sound, Ruby giggled, and Weiss rolled her eyes in exasperation. Once she finished and set her empty cup to the side, she eyed the other three around the table.

"So that's a good thing, right?" She said, looking between all of them. None of them answered. "It's good that she'd fall for his advances, that's what we want, isn't it?"

Menta shook his head. "We don't know yet. He could just be being friendly because Blake likes to read," Another bite of his scone and more tea. "We don't even know if he actually likes her or not."

Nora shook her head harder in retaliation. "I know! You didn't see the look in his eye when I first asked him! Have you ever heard Ren hesitate, Menta?"

Menta opened his mouth to reply and then promptly shut it, realizing she had him backed into a corner. After a moment, he sighed. "Never, really, it just doesn't happen."

Nora slammed her fist into her open palm. "Exactly! I know Renny better than anyone, and I can tell when something's different."

Menta looked away again, his cup in his hand and held just under his nose. Ruby busied herself with the rest of her cookies, picking up one after the other and dropping them into her mouth. Weiss ran a finger around the rim of her coffee mug. Nora glanced around the table from one to the other, daring them silently to try and contest her knowledge of Ren's feelings and emotions.

After what felt like an hour, though it was really like five minutes, Weiss sighed and picked up her head, electric blue eyes meeting vivid turquoise.

"I believe you. So what's our first move?" She stated calmly. A mischievous grin broke out across Nora's face, so intense that Menta scooted away just a bit.

"It's simple," She started, looking from Weiss, to Ruby, to Menta, and back to Weiss. "We recruit some help."

* * *

Ren shut the book, it's mass of pages hitting the back cover with a satisfying _THUD._ Sighing, Ren placed the book on the front desk and stood finally. His legs were a little weak, but that was to be expected since he'd been sitting for the last two hours, reading _Issue Two_. Ren hadn't been surprised in the slightest when Menta hadn't come back after the initial hour, and he held no ill will towards the fact. He hadn't expected Menta to come back on time regardless, and over the course of those two hours, no one had come into the library. On one hand, it was a blessing. On the other, it was disappointing. He had half-hoped that Blake would maybe make another appearance..

 _Blake._ At the mere thought of her name, a warm feeling flooded throughout Ren's entire body. He let out a sigh of pure bliss and slinked over the front of the desk, propping his head up on one hand.

It had been almost a full week, and over the course of that week, Ren asked himself countless amounts of times why he felt so... _intrigued_ around her. She was very attractive, yes, but that had never been a deciding factor on anything for Ren.

She was smart, that much was evident by the short conversation they'd had a day prior. Again, Ren didn't let singular things make his decisions for him.

She had impeccable taste and knowledge when it came to literature. Alongside what he already knew she read, Blake had clued Ren in on some of her favorite titles. Novels ranging from _Water for Elephants_ to _Warbreaker_ and of course, to _Ninjas of Love_. They'd shared a decadently in-depth conversation about the series. After a few very short moments, however, they quickly moved on to different topics, as the more... _engaging_ sections of the series left the both of them flustered to no end. Even after that, Ren was genuinely happy that it was so easy for him to have a conversation with Blake.

 _Maybe that's it._ He thought to himself, eyelids drooping dangerously low. _I can speak to her as if I'd known her my entire life. Being around her is...surprisingly easy._

Groaning at his own tiredness, Ren pulled himself up from the desk, standing straight up with perfect posture. He whipped his scroll out of his back pocket and quickly shot a text over to Menta, asking him to come back as quickly as he could so that Ren could take a break. He didn't take them often, only when he was extremely tired and was sure he'd pass out on the job.

Before he could even slip his scroll back into his pocket, it pinged out, issuing a reply from Menta. Ren looked down at it.

 _ **"Of course. I'll be back in less than five minutes."**_

Smiling, Ren remained standing at the front desk. He had no doubt that he could just lay down immediately and let Menta handle what happened, but he refused to acknowledge the notion. If someone came in before Menta got back, Ren would handle it.

* * *

It turns out Ren didn't need to handle anything. Just a little under five minutes later, Menta walked in through the front door. His hair had been untied and fell back down, framing his face in mint green strands. Ren acknowledge him with a simple nod before turning and walking away. He heard Menta open the gate and take over the front desk behind him and smiled.

Nearing the end of the building, where Ren and Menta had set up a long couch for naps on the job, Ren promptly collapsed. He made no effort to untie his hair from it's usual ponytail, the pink strands of his bang hanging over in his face. Instead, Ren merely retreated into the warmth and safety of the couch beneath him. His body went limp and his eyes began to shut slowly before a singular picture blazed to life in his head.

The picture was that of two golden amber orbs, staring forward at him. A thin smile, just on the edge of transforming into a grin, set below them. The eyes twinkled with a sort of joyous humor, framed by long strands of midnight black hair, topped with a bow.

A smile slipped onto Ren's face as he fell into a slumber, the image of Blake burned into his subconscious as he began to sleep. Only pleasant dreams were brought his way.

* * *

 **Ah, there we are. Chapter 4 is complete. I hope the wait for this update wasn't too long. I'd be more than eager to push the second upload date back one day to Friday instead of Saturday. If that sounds good to anyone, make sure to tell me.**

 **I plan on delving into Ren's thoughts on Blake a bit more for these next chapters, as the others were closer to what Blake felt and thought about him. Romance is a two-sided coin, after all.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed, and remember to leave a review if you do so please. Anything, no matter how long or short, means a lot to me.**

 **Until next time, Dantikat out.**


	5. 5: An Evening Well Spent

_It's finally here._ Blake thought to herself as she walked. The orange-red trees around her swayed in the calm, gentle breeze of the Autumn wind. Stray leaves found themselves plucked from branches or picked up from the ground and tossed about in a delicate dance of nature.

Birds chirped from both close and afar, seemingly calling out to one another. Lone squirrels ran from tree to tree, scampering up and down them all the while plucking nuts and other things from the ground and from atop branches. Cars drove by at a leisurely pace. Everything was nice and calm. Serene and tranquil. Nothing was too fast, nothing was too slow. It was all... _perfect_.

Blake slowed to a halt just to take in the air around her. Late last night, it had rained a bit, and as such that particular smell was left hanging in the air. Earthy and wet, yet calming and invigorating.

She took a deep breath through her nose and smiled, exhaling it out with a deep sigh as she re-began her trek to the library. She was dressed in a much more...lively sense. When she'd first told Weiss about the event, her roommate had demanded she set out an outfit beforehand.

"You're always dressed in such dark and depressing shades! Would it _kill_ you to add some color to your wardrobe?" She had exclaimed. Blake had prepared a response but it died in her throat as she realized that Weiss was right. In the end, she succumbed to Weiss's help and allowed the girl to aid her in picking out an outfit.

Now, she was dressed in black knee-high boots and light blue jeans adorned with slight rip and tear marks here and there, though none of them went completely through. Even if they had, one would only see the black leggings she'd worn under the jeans to protect against the cold whip of the wind. So far, they served their purpose.

On her torso, she wore a pale red flannel shirt, buttoned completely up sans the top button itself. Over that, she wore a plain old black overcoat, nothing too special but not very good at keeping out the cold. Her hands were wrapped in black gloves, and a black scarf hung around her neck, it's ends flowing gently down her front and ending just at the curve of her chest. Her bow, now black, sat atop her head in practiced perfection, as it always did.

She had been skeptical at first, mainly because red just wasn't her color, but she was happy to see that it looked nice on her. At the time, though, she had an inkling of a thought. _What if Ren doesn't like the color red?_ Even now, a day after, the thought still sent a shiver down her spine.

Blake shook her head, dispelling the immature thoughts, and, winding up her courage, rounded the corner that lead to the library.

* * *

She saw him from a great distance away. Ren was leaned up against the outside wall of the library, his hands in his pockets and his face turned upwards toward the sky. His hair was let down over his back, long black strands that were almost butt-length, and the pink section of his hair that seemed to flow of it's own accord against the wind.

He wore dark blue jeans, pale green sneakers, and a green button-up shirt of the same tone. A black hoodie over that, plus pale pink gloves and a pink scarf, finished off his appearance, and while it was extremely simple, Blake still found that she was at a loss for words.

While her mouth and mind didn't work, her legs continued, pushing her ever so closer to the man she was going to spend her day with. Finally, as she grew closer to Ren, she steeled herself and lifted an arm up to wave. Ren noticed her almost immediately and reciprocated, waving in her direction and leaning up off of the wall.

Finally, the distance between them was muted, and Blake stood a mere foot away from Ren. He stood, stoic as ever, and smiled at her.

"Blake. It's a pleasure to see you again." He stated simply. His hands were cross behind his back The wind picked up from behind Blake, throwing her hair forward towards Ren. The black of his hair blew back behind him as well, yet the pink section held fast, fluttering ever so slightly against Ren's own cheek.

"Ren. The pleasure is mine, really," She smiled back up at him, her arms cross over her stomach. She waved a hand upwards, gesturing towards the day itself. "It seems we got pretty lucky with the weather today."

Ren looked up at the sky, a slight frown touching his face.

"The clouds are a little dark. It could rain," He started. Blake looked up and found that he was right. The clouds, while there weren't many, were low and gray. When she looked back at him, he was smiling at her. "No matter. I've always liked the rain."

Blake nodded her agreement and shifted her weight around from foot to foot. The rain was okay, but getting caught out in it...that wouldn't be fun.

"Well then," Ren exclaimed, a thin grin plastered to his face. He extended his hand towards her. "Shall we get going? If it will rain, I plan to be inside and warm when it does."

Blake reached out and her fingertips brushed his own. She hesitated, though she was unsure why. A slight moment passed and she reached forward and took Ren's hand in her own. His hand was warm, and despite the gloves, she could feel the smooth skin of his palm.

The wind picked up behind them once more, and Ren took a step back, pulling her alongside him. Blake followed, and they began a slow walk down the street, hands clasped together. Few words were exchanged between them, and the both of them found that to be even more enjoyable than any conversation that they could think of. Instead, they were quiet. They walked along, together, as close as either of them would dare, and simply enjoyed the other's company.

By the time they had gotten to the cafe, the clouds had grown darker and the chance of rain only grew. The cafe itself wasn't very big. Made primarily of tan brick with red accents, there was a small perch over the doorway, just big enough for two people. Ren opened the door for her, and Blake stepped in first. She waited to the side as Ren stepped in a looked around.

The cafe was simple. To their immediate right was the wall that connected the cafe to the next building. Against that wall and further up in front of them was the front counter, where coffee machines and assorted tools were flayed out. The front was open, where a worker stood with a green cap on their head and a brown apron slung over their chest. The rest of the room was compiled with round tables, three to four small, comfortable looking chairs around each one.

Ren lead Blake up to the counter, where the barista smiled at him. He was young, younger than both of them, with medium-length blond hair and blue eyes. On his chest was a name tag that read 'Jaune'.

"Hey Ren! I was wondering when you'd show up." Jaune exclaimed, his eyes darting from Ren to Blake. Since they had stepped into the cafe, Ren had let go of her hand, much to Blake's dismay.

Jaune's attention snapped to Blake, making her jump a little.

"Don't think I've seen you in here before. Welcome to Oum's Cafe. Are you a friend of Ren's?" He asked. Blake nodded, her hands clasped together in front of her.

"I am. I moved into town recently and Ren was nice enough to show me some quality spots around town," She stated, glancing to her left at Ren and smiling. "I've got to say, I enjoy it quite a bit already."

Jaune nodded, scratching his chin. "Mm. That does sound like Ren," He clapped his hands together. "Well! I hope you like it here in Oniyuri..uh,"

"Blake." Ren filled in for him. Jaune tossed him a sheepish grin.

"I hope you like it here, Blake. Now! What'll it be?" He reached into his apron and pulled out a notepad and pencil. "I'm assuming the usual tea for Ren, what about you, Blake?"

She tapped her chin a bit and glanced up. Behind Jaune, up against the highest part of the wall, was a menu with assorted coffees, teas, and meals or snacks. Honestly, it was too much to try and decide on, so Blake just shrugged.

"I'll be fine with whatever Ren is getting." She responded. Jaune nodded and ripped the small page from his notepad. He turned around and waved his arm forward. From behind the multitude of appliances, another barista walked forward. She was slightly shorter than Jaune, yet still taller than both Ren and Blake. Her hair was crimson, tied back in a long ponytail so that none of it clouded her bright, emerald eyes. She stood at Jaune's side and smiled at the two of them.

"Hello Ren. It's a pleasure seeing you again." She said, nodding in Ren's direction. He nodded back, a slight smile find it's way to his face.

"Greetings Pyrrha. I hope you're doing well," Ren replied. He gestured to Blake. "This is my friend, Blake. She's new to Oniyuri."

Pyrrha nodded and reached out to shake Blake's hand, and she reciprocated.

"It's nice to meet you, Blake. We usually only see Ren here alone," She shot an amused smile Ren's way before turning back to Blake. "It's great to see that he's finally found company to bring to the cafe with him."

A thin grin slipped onto Blake's face. "I'm happy that he thinks I'm suitable company. I don't get out much, so this means a lot to me." She responded, tossing Pyrrha an appreciative glance. She seemed to catch it and nodded.

"If that's the case, we'll get out of your hair now. Come on, Jaune~" She melodically sang out, turning away and swaying back to the assorted machines. Jaune smiled sheepishly towards her and followed, waving back to Ren and Blake beforehand. Ren took a step back, and Blake followed. He started off to a table towards the back of the cafe, and once they were far away enough, Blake let a small chuckle escape her. Ren looked back, curious.

"You have odd friends, Ren. Honestly, it's a new experience every time." She exclaimed, taking a seat at the table in the back corner. Ren sat next to her, his hands palm-down on the table. He simply shrugged, a small smile on his face.

"I attract different kinds of people. It's strange, honestly, but I'm content with the variety." He replied slowly. He upended his right palm, the one closest to Blake, and used the other to reach into his coat. With it, he brought out a small black book. It had no cover, and the title was much too worn to read. Blake raised an eyebrow. Ren merely smiled in reply.

"I did say this was a pleasant place to read. I hope you hadn't forgotten that, Blake." He shot her a small smile. Blake grinned back slowly in retaliation. In truth, she hadn't forgotten, she just didn't know when it'd be appropriate to start. Now, however, that Ren had done such, it was more than alright. That, though, on top of Ren's upended palm made her breathing hitch up for a moment.

Blake pulled her own book, the copy of _The Sea of Monsters_ that Ren had given her, and propped it open with her right hand. In a burst of confidence, she lightly grasped Ren's open hand with her left one, her face taking on a tinge of red as she did. She risked a short glance at Ren, whose face also took on a slightly pinkish tone. She smiled to herself and diverted her attention to her book. As long as she had the time, she _would_ try and make some headway in the book. She'd gotten fairly deep into it already, but it never hurt to go further.

* * *

"You see that, Jaune? It looks like Ren's found someone." Pyrrha commented as she held the hot cup in her hand. Jaune was busy finishing off Blake's drink, while Pyrrha held Ren's in one hand, waiting.

Jaune peered over his shoulder, looking out towards the scene Pyrrha was pointing him toward. At first, all he saw was both Ren and Blake reading different books. Sure, they sat a little close, but at a first glance, nothing really jumped out at him.

However, after another moment of watching, he saw it. Ren's upper right arm tightened up just a bit, and when Jaune's eyes trailed down his arm, he saw both Ren and Blake's hands, clasped together. It was a light grasp, but every so often, one of them would tighten their grip, just a bit, as if they were afraid the other's hand would just disappear.

"Aww~," Jaune cooed, pulling away the second drink and handing it off to Pyrrha. "It's about time. You take the drinks over, I'll snap a picture for Nora."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about her little 'spy kids' plan? What about Ren? Surely he'll feel betrayed." She responded. Jaune waved her off dismissively.

"Aw, come on, Pyrrha. Where's your sense of adventure?" Jaune exclaimed, digging into his pocket to pull out his scroll. "Just distract them enough for me to get the picture. I'll send it to Nora, and then our part is done."

Pyrrha, while she wasn't enthusiastic about the plan, sighed and stepped out from behind the counter. She made her way to the back table, where Ren and Blake sat. The two of them were so engrossed in their books they didn't even realize Pyrrha was there. Now that she was closer, she could see the red and pink tones of both their faces, the bead of sweat that traced it's way down one side of Ren's face, and the upturned corners of both their mouths. Pyrrha grinned to herself. It was adorable.

Finally, as she neared, she cleared her throat, placing both mugs on the table. Blake looked up, as did Ren, but neither made an effort to move their hands.

"I've brought your tea. I take it Ren hasn't told you what's in this, did he?" She asked. Blake glanced over at him and then back to Pyrrha. She shook her head. Pyrrha looked over at Ren who shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I...I forgot." He irked out eventually. Both Pyrrha and Blake exchanged glances, then the both of them broke into laughter. Ren rolled his eyes and slumped down slightly further into his seat.

"Don't worry about it, Ren," Pyrrha managed to eek out through laughs. She then turned to Blake, still smiling. "It's a mixed berry blend, but a while back Ren suggested we add honey and mint leaves. It's been our official recipe of sorts since then."

Blake looked over to Ren, who still looked down at his book, but a thin grin graced his face.

"Please, Pyrrha, you humble me. I just..really like tea." He muttered, unsure of what else to say. Blake grinned and turned back to Pyrrha.

Suddenly, a loud snap shook the smile from her face. Both her and Ren's heads shot up, only to find Jaune, standing at the other end of the room, his scroll raised and a big grin on his face. Immediately, both Ren and Blake's hands shot away from one another, landing on their laps or their books as the two looked away. Blake's face hitched up a dozen shades of red, and she buried her face in the table. Ren's face turned a peculiar shade of deep pink, and he directed his attention back down to his book.

Pyrrha's own face turned just a shade lighter than her hair and her head dropped.

"Sorry...," She muttered out. "I-I'll get out of your hair..." She turned back and walked away, leaving both Ren and Blake to fester in the sudden heat that enveloped the both of them.

Blake lifted her head and pulled her mug over to her. It was still hot, but suddenly her mouth was parched. She sat up a bit and grabbed the mug, holding it in one palm and steadying it with the other hand, how she always drank her tea, and brought the cup to her mouth. She took a tentative sip and was surprised to see that the tea was...immeasurably good.

A satisfied sigh slipped through her lips as she leaned in and took another short drink, careful of how hot the tea still was.

"Mm, Ren this is really good." She commented, eyes stuck on the cup in her hand. "Do you know a lot about tea?"

Ren nodded in confirmation, his eyes betraying his will and glancing over at her. Immediately, composed pink met intrigued amber. They stood still for a while, until Ren cleared his throat.

"Yes, my mother was a...connoisseur, if you will. I pretty much only ever drank tea at home," He ended it off with a light chuckle, his eyes darting back down to his book. "I found a love for it early on in my life and she taught me a lot."

Blake nodded her head along, hinging off of every word and then drinking a bit more tea at the end. Soon after, Ren placed his own book down and picked up his own mug. He took a sip, a pleased sigh escaping from him as he did. Blake flicked her book open once more and sat her mug down. Like Ren had done before, she upended her left palm on the table and held her book in her right hand, reading over the lines slowly and glancing at Ren every now and then. She saw him hesitate before holding his cup in his left hand and grasping hers once again. Warmth ran through her body as he did, and a thin smile fell upon her face.

This time, however, Ren pulled both their hands off of the table and placed his them on the armrest of his chair. From where their hands sat, they were practically invisible from any angle. Blake smiled again, her head tilting to the side ever so slightly in Ren's direction as she continued to read her book. Setting his cup down on the table and picking up his book again, Ren began to do the same, tilting his head in Blake's direction.

Sitting quietly in the deepest corner, a book in one hand, a cup of tea available, and a very intriguing and interesting individual next to her, Blake felt like she could sit there for hours on end with absolutely no care in the world.

Next to her, his eyes skimming over words but not exactly reading them, Ren was having similar thoughts. His eyes glanced over, looking at Blake for a moment before darting back to the aged pages of his book. He'd been reading the same sentence over and over since he'd picked his book back up, as every time he went back to read, his eyes shot back over to Blake and everything he'd just read just slipped out of his head.

It was astonishing to think that a girl, one whom he'd barely known for a week, would have so much power over his actions and thinking. Even now, it took quite a bit of willpower for him to keep up his stoic front. Ren wasn't exactly sure what he should do, or could do for that matter. It was all very confusing to him.

Sighing and dispelling the thoughts, Ren decided instead to focus on what he knew. For instance, he knew that he enjoyed the moment he was having with Blake. He knew that he loved the feeling of having Blake's hand in his own. He knew that the distance between them, despite how tightly they were holding hands, was a massive hindrance.

Lastly, he knew that he didn't want to move from that very spot. Given the opportunity, he would sit there for hours on end, as long as Blake was next to him, he'd be fine.

* * *

"See? Look at that! That's adorable!" Nora exclaimed, holding her scroll up to Menta's face. She, Menta, Weiss, and Ruby were all sitting outside, just down the street from Oum's Cafe. There was a fairly large park just a bit away, and currently, that's where the group sat. Menta and Nora sat on a bench while Weiss and Ruby were laid out on a blanket in the grass. Menta had one leg kicked up over the other, Nora sat with her knees on the bench, Weiss was laid down completely on her back with her hands under her head, and Ruby had her head on Weiss's shoulder, her nose nuzzled into the other girl's collarbone.

Menta pushed Nora's scroll away. They'd all seen the picture of Ren and Blake holding hands in the cafe several times now, as Nora had sent it to them as well as shoved her scroll into all of their faces. Ruby cooed in delight, Weiss sighed with a tired but satisfied smile, and Menta gave an appreciative and proud nod. Nora hadn't seem to have gotten over the fact yet.

Weiss sat up, much to Ruby's dismay, and stared at the ball of orange-haired energy.

"How did you even know where they were gonna go?" She asked. Nora had made what seemed like a split-second assumption that they'd head to Oum's Cafe. Nora halted her speed-rambling and turned to Weiss.

"It was easy! Ren hate's taking public transport, so he only ever goes to places that are within walking distance of the library. Outside of Oum's Cafe, there are only two other coffee shops, one that isn't open on Saturdays, and the other one is...well, let's just say Ren wouldn't be caught dead in that place," She shivered. "It's odd."

Weiss raised an eyebrow and then turned to Menta, who shrugged his shoulders in reply and let his head fall back against the wooden bench. Sighing, Weiss fell back down onto her back, Ruby already taking up her spot at the girl's side as she did.

The clouds above them had darkened a significant bit since the morning, but Weiss was sure that it wouldn't rain. She was confident in her ability to 'smell' the rain before it came and assured the others they had nothing to worry about. Menta and Nora brought umbrellas anyway, both of which sat between them on the bench.

"I've gotta admit, I didn't expect Jaune to stick to the plan," Menta sighed, wrinkling his nose a bit. "He gets cold feet quite a bit."

Nora nodded her agreement, bouncing back and forth in place. "Mhm. And Pyrrha's too nice to initiate anything on her own. How much you wanna bet that she apologized when Jaune took the picture?"

Menta scoffed. "I don't want to bet at all, lest I lose my money because of it," He replied, kicking his leg out a bit. "Honestly, Pyrrha's the nicest girl I've ever met in my life, but she's so timid all the time. She's gotta learn to let loose sometimes."

"Mm. I hear ya! Maybe we should take them to a party or something? Parties aaaalways loosen me up!" Nora exclaimed. Menta groaned and shut his eyes.

Suddenly, a big, wet blob plopped itself down onto Menta's nose. He opened his eyes and sat up, surprised to see that a single raindrop had hit his nose. He looked over at the other three girls, who hadn't seemed to notice yet. Sighing, he quickly stood and looked up at the clouds. They were _much_ darker than they'd been minutes earlier.

Another raindrop hit Menta's cheek and rolled down to his chin. Nora stopped her bouncing and looked up as well, then looked down to the two girls in the grass. Both their eyes were closed, and nothing had hit them yet.

Sighing, Menta picked up his umbrella and clicked it open. It was pretty big, and simply all black. He walked around to where the girl's heads were, and simply held the umbrella up over them. It didn't cover his own head as well as theirs, but he had no issue with it. The rain was rather nice, after all. It started to come down lightly, and as the shadow of the umbrella covered their faces, the girls below began to stir.

"Menta? What're you doing?" Ruby asked, sitting up a bit and yawning. The girl had probably fallen asleep.

Menta grunted in response and looked around the park. Nora had pulled her umbrella open and now sat with it up over her head, blocking out the rain.

"It's raining. I figured the two of you wouldn't want to get wet." He finally answered. Weiss sat up a little as well, though Ruby's weight prevented her from getting very far.

"What're you talking about? I was sure it wouldn't..." She trailed off. Her eyes were a bit glazed over, and it took a little for Menta to realize she had fallen into a light sleep. Only Nora's sporadic reactions and loud talking had stopped her from getting any further into it.

Menta shrugged. "You probably dozed off. Don't worry about it, you guys can borrow my umbrella for the evening and return it whenever."

Weiss and Ruby stood up and dusted themselves off. Menta handed the umbrella over to Weiss as Ruby bent down to fold up the blanket. The rain began coming down even harder, hitting the sidewalks loudly and covering the streets in a thin vale of rain and light mist.

"Oh man. Maybe we should get somewhere dry." Ruby commented with the folded-up blanket pulled to her chest. Weiss, holding Menta's umbrella over the two of them, nodded in agreement.

"Yes, let's. There's a nice lounge nearby that we could all go sit in for a bit." Weiss stated, pulling her scroll from her pocket. Menta shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. The rain had already thoroughly soaked his hair and soaked in through his shirt. He didn't seem to mind though.

"I'm down. Let's get going then." He responded, starting off down the path they'd initially walked in on. Nora hopped up from the bench and followed, twirling her umbrella over her head. It was small and pink, much too small for two people, but big enough for one. Weiss and Ruby followed, Ruby with her head on the other's shoulder and their hands entwined between them. There was clearly enough space for the two of them to be a bit spread out, but Ruby wanted no parts with being separated.

The group left the park, Weiss and Ruby in front, Menta behind them, and Nora last, taking her time to jump or skip through any small puddles she managed to come by. Ruby would have done so as well, if it hadn't been for Weiss pulling her back by her sleeve every time the poor girl made an attempt. Menta felt sorry for her.

Or at least, he would have, if it hadn't been for the fact that the rain had now properly soaked through his thin hoodie already.

* * *

Ren and Blake stood at the door to Oum's Cafe, staring out at the rain in distaste. They'd been caught up reading, but when Jaune and Pyrrha called out that they'd be closing soon, the two quickly shut their books, and moved to the door. However, the rain had gotten pretty hard by then, and neither of them were very enthusiastic to walk around in it.

Ren turned back to Jaune and Pyrrha, who were shutting off lights and such at the barista counter.

"You two wouldn't happen to have an extra umbrella, would you?" Ren asked. "I forgot to grab one this morning."

Jaune, dressed in a long-sleeve black shirt with a blue t-shirt on over with a crimson red coat on over, shook his head.

"Sorry, Ren. Pyrrha and I don't leave the house with more than one of what we need. Usually, anyway," He walked out from behind the counter with Pyrrha behind him. She had on a golden-yellow t-shirt and a matching crimson red coat. She frowned, clearly upset.

"I'm sorry we can't help you, Ren. M-maybe you'd like to stay in the cafe until it stops raining," She offered. "All you'd have to do is lock up afterwards."

Ren waved his hand dismissively. "I'd hate to cause any problems with your work. By all means, be on your way, we'll be fine."

Blake nodded alongside him. Truth be told, she wasn't exactly comfortable with walking out in the rain. Sure, the smell and the sound was nice, but being caught in it was a different matter overall. She hadn't let any of it show, though, as either way it meant spending more time with Ren.

Jaune and Pyrrha stepped out the door, and he opened their umbrella, simple and big enough for the two of them, and the two stepped to the side to wait for Blake and Ren to step out. They did just that, standing under the perch above the door as Pyrrha locked up behind them.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" She asked, clearly still worried. This time, it was Blake who answered with a dismissive wave.

"We aren't children, Pyrrha," She answered with a light chuckle. "We're more than capable of walking through the rain."

Pyrrha smiled, and her worry seemed to dissipate.

"Well, if you're sure. We'll see you later then." She said, and her and Jaune began to walk off. Ren and Blake watched them go up until they turned the corner. After that, there was only the sound of the rain around them hitting the ground repeatedly. Finally, Ren spoke up.

"Hm. Do you want to just walk through it or what?" He asked, looking down at her. Ever since they'd gotten up earlier, they'd left their hands gently clasped together, not caring too much if Jaune snapped another picture. He didn't, and they'd felt a little relief at the fact.

Now, standing under the perch above the door as the rain pounded the ground around them, their hands stuck together, Blake sighed in content.

'Truth be told I...I don't like the rain very much." She admitted, looking up at Ren. He seemed to think for a moment before backing away and pulling their hands apart. Blake was a little disappointed, but her disappointment turned to curiosity when Ren pulled his hoodie off and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling the hood up over her head as he did. Her face took on a bit of a red tinge.

"Ren?" She asked skeptically as he pulled away and took her hand in his right one once more. He glanced down at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Hm? What is it, Blake?" He asked, using his other hand to pull his pink scarf up over his neck a bit more.

She struggled to find her words. She was perfectly happy with wearing his hoodie. It smelled like cherry blossoms and green tea. An odd combination, but it was like heaven to her nose.

"I-I don't want you to get soaked or anything," Blake finally managed to eek out, her eyes meeting his as she said it. Ren smiled and began to back out from underneath the perch, pulling her alongside him.

"Blake, please. It's just rain. It won't hurt me, and besides," He finally pulled the both of them out into the downpour, the rain running down Ren's hoodie and effectively keeping Blake dry. Ren's shirt, however, absorbed the rain immediately. In a span of seconds, his shirt was soaked and his hair was just about there. "I like the rain. Come on, I'll walk you home."

Blake tightened her grip on Ren's hand and began to follow him as he walked off down the street. The walk from the library to the cafe had been just about ten minutes, and then the walk from the library to Blake's apartment was another twelve. A twenty-two minute walk, and there looked to be no end to the rain. She was worried, of course, that Ren would get sick or something due to the cold, or just that he'd be really uncomfortable after giving away his hoodie.

The first ten minutes of the walk passed, Ren drenched in rain from practically head to toe, and Blake wrapped in Ren's hoodie, her nose assaulted with Ren's smell and the smell of the rain around her. But mostly Ren's. Very few words were exchanged between the two of them, minus Blake constantly asking Ren if he wanted his coat back and Ren avidly telling her no. After a bit too much asking, he chuckled slightly, leaning his head to the side in her direction.

"Honestly, Blake. It's just rain. My answer to taking back my hoodie so far has been no and it will remain as such," He stated. Blake looked away, her grip on his hand loosening ever so slightly. Ren gripped her hand tightly, and she looked back to him. "It's almost like you wouldn't want it at all."

Blake shook her head, looking up at him. "No, it's not that. I just don't want you to get sick or anything on my behalf," Ren looked down at her, his eyebrow raising in question. "I worry, is all, Ren."

Ren's grip on her hand tightened once more, a grin gracing Ren's face.

"And I'm telling you that you've no need to. I'll be fine." He replied. Blake's breathing hitched up a bit. That grin itself was probably the biggest one she'd seen on Ren's face, and it made her feel warm inside, despite the cold all around her. A line of blush ran across Blake's cheeks and nose, and she nodded in response, leaning into Ren and resting her head on his shoulder.

If she had been watching, Blake would've noticed a fine layer of pink blush run over Ren's face as well. In truth, the cold had begun to get to him. His shirt was thoroughly drenched, and it was only a matter of time before the undershirt he wore had gotten soaked as well. Talking to Blake had helped, and the assurance that they were still together, their hands tightly wound together, had spread a little warmth through him.

'I'll be fine' wasn't what he'd wanted to say. In his head, he'd told her, 'As long as you're with me, I'll be fine.', but it seemed too soon. Instead, he opted for cutting out the first half of the sentence. That was a much safer reply. Blake's head on his shoulder wasn't much weight at all, but it was reassuring. He could feel her heartbeat through her wrist, and he was surprised to feel that her heartbeat was almost as fast as his own. The fact that the both of them were on edge on what was going on was...encouraging.

Suddenly, the cold of the rain and the wind didn't bother him much anymore. With Blake at his side, he felt like he could do anything. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself for now. Maybe later, if he had the chance, he would explain the things that ran through his head. Much, much later.

* * *

Another ten minutes passed before they'd finally gotten to Blake's apartment. Standing now, underneath the wide, low perch above the front door, the two finally had a moment to catch their breath. Blake was still relatively dry, though her boots did take on a bit of moisture and there were a few drops that managed to catch her legs. Ren, however, resembled a leaky faucet. His entire shirt was doused in rain. His pants had stayed somewhat dry, though there were streaks where the rain had caught them, and his shoes were just as drenched as his shirt. His hair stuck to his forehead and his back, and it seemed to take him a bit longer to catch his breath than it should have.

Looking closely, Blake could see that he was shivering. His nose had taken on a bit of a reddish tone, and his eyelids were drooped.

"Ren, you're shivering!" She exclaimed, placing a tentative hand on his bicep. He sighed and leaned into her touch. Around them, the rain hadn't lessened a bit, the drops still splattering against the ground loudly with the occasional car out in the distance.

"I...I'll be fine, Blake. I-I should be on my way home, now anyway." He stood and began to step away, but Blake gripped his arm and pulled him back. He looked back, an eyebrow raised in question.

"No, Ren. You gave me your hoodie to protect me from the rain, and now you're sitting here, shivering. It would be unwise of me not to repay you." She smiled, her amber eyes twinkling with joy. Ren lowered his brow, a smile finding it's way to his face to counter her own. He stepped back toward her, his body growing warm once more.

"I guess there's no point in arguing?" He said, more of a statement than a question.

Blake shook her head, her smile thinning into a small grin. "Not at all. Come on, you can get warm in my apartment."

Ren nodded, though he felt a little uneasy. "I don't want to track water everywhere. Surely Weiss would be upset about that."

Blake took his hand and lead him into the building and towards the stairs instead of the elevator. She only lived on the third floor, so the walk wasn't very far. Still, it'd be enough time just for Ren to dry out a bit more.

"Well, she'll have to deal for now. Come on, we'll take the stairs. It's better to drip water on the stairs than in the elevator." Blake responded. Ren nodded his consent and followed her into the stairwell, the heavy door shutting with a loud bang behind them. They began to walk slowly up the stairs, taking one at a time. With each step, a bundle of drops fell from Ren's shirt and splattered on the floor. He sighed and kept going, ignoring it to the best of his ability. To block it out of his mind, he turned to Blake.

"So, what should I be expecting with your apartment?" He asked. Blake turned back to him, tilting her head. Her face had taken on it's usual calm demeanor. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Uh, it's mainly black and white. It's pretty simple, really, nothing too out of the ordinary. I guess the biggest thing would be that Weiss likes things to be pristine, so everything is pretty much spotless," She glanced over Ren's soaked shirt, issuing him to roll his eyes at her. "Like I said. She'll have to deal."

They crossed over the second floor and began the ascent to the third. It was then that Ren had another question.

"Wouldn't Weiss be home right about now? I remember you telling me she doesn't work on Saturdays." He stated. Blake slowed down just a bit, and Ren slowed himself as well to compensate. They were still holding hands.

"Hm. Normally she would be. But, she left the apartment this morning before I did, her and Ruby," She regained her pep and sped up, if only slightly, and Ren did the same. "There's a chance the two of them could still be out, caught in some bakery or such in the rain."

They stepped onto the third floor and Blake pulled the heavy door open. Ren held it and allowed her to walk through before him. She did so and payed him with a curt nod and a small curtsy. Ren smiled and gave her a small bow in retaliation before the heavy door slammed shut behind them and they began to walk down the hall, in the direction of Blake's apartment. Luckily, Ren's shirt had mostly stopped dripping on the floor, though his shoes did make an uncomfortable squishing noise with every step.

Finally, Blake halted in front of one of the door at the end of the hall. She dug around in her back pocket for a second and pulled out a golden key, which she promptly stuck into the lock and turned. She looked back to Ren, who was standing stoic with his hands crossed behind his back. He waved a hand out towards the door, his pink eyes darting between the wooden door and Blake's own eyes.

"After you then. It's your apartment, after all." He stated simply. She smiled, despite the current rolling of her eyes, and pushed the door open. As per usual, she stood against the wall and pulled her boots off, placing them up against the wall on a small wooden section of the floor. She then stepped further into the apartment and turned around, issuing for Ren to do the same. With a curt nod, he followed suite, pulling his sneakers off and placing them next to her boots up against the wall. His socks were damp, but not wet enough to stain the carpet or anything.

Blake pulled both Ren's hoodie and her own coat off and hung them on the rack next to the door. She looked back to Ren.

"You may want to take your shirt off. We can hang it in the bathroom to dry." She told him, and he nodded in compliance. Blake walked off to the bathroom as Ren unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of his back. His short-sleeved black undershirt was a little wet near the collar, but it was relatively dry other than that. Slinging the shirt over his arm, he walked off into the direction that Blake went.

He found her in the bathroom, pushing aside the curtains of the shower. She had rolled the sleeves of her shirt up to her elbows as well as folded her jeans up to her knees. Her socks were simple and black, stopping just below her knees.

Once Ren stepped into the bathroom with his shirt over his arm, Blake turned back to look at him. Her eyes glanced over his arms and chest for a moment before she held a hand out. Ren complied and handed it to her, which she promptly slung over the shower rail and spread out. Ren nodded.

"Well, that's that problem solved." Ren stated as Blake turned back around to face him. For a moment, they simply looked at each other. Blake then cleared her throat.

"Yes, well, there's still the matter of _you_ , Ren," She stated. Before he could respond, she reached out and took one of his hands in both of hers. His skin was still freezing. "You're terribly cold, and you need to warm up."

Ren tilted his head, prepared to say that he was plenty warm as it was, but that would've been a lie. And besides, she'd already felt how cold he still was. Sighing, he nodded.

"Very well. What do you propose we do?" He asked. He made no effort to take his hand away from hers. Likewise, Blake did nothing either. She thought for a moment before smiling.

"Would you like a mug of tea, Ren? I do indulge myself from time to time." She asked. A smile found it's way to Ren's face and he nodded. Grasping one of her hands with his own, he stepped backwards out of the bathroom, pulling her along with him. Blake looked up at him to find a small smirk on his face.

"That sounds lovely. Please, Blake," His eyes twinkled as his smirk grew a bit wider. "Indulge me."

A sound somewhere between a sigh and a whimper slipped from Blake's mouth as she found herself void of a response. In place of words, Blake simply turned and walked from the hallway, leading Ren into the kitchen. Letting go of his hand, she began to reach into cabinets and pull out various things, a kettle, two tea steeping pads, a bag of Japanese green tea leaves, and two black, handle-less mugs. She immediately set the kettle on the stove and filled one of the mugs with cold water, pouring it into the kettle and turning the heat on. With the kettle heating up, Blake sighed and leaned up against the counter. Ren did the same across from her, crossing his arms across his chest.

Ren's eyes searched the apartment, darting from the tall black bookshelf to the black and white appliances of the kitchen. His eyes, however, continued to fall back on Blake. Her amber eyes were downcast, and her oily black hair framing her pale skin perfectly. Her brows were furrowed, as if she was deep in thought. Ren decided to break the silence.

"Thank you, Blake," He stated simply. Her eyes darted up to meet his and he smiled. "For refusing to let me be stubborn, and for helping me in general. It...means the world to me."

A thin blush settled over Blake's face and she smiled back at him, leaning up off of the counter.

"If I hadn't done it, who would have?" She stated, crossing her arms over her stomach. "And besides..I'm sure you would've done the same for me, if the opportunity present it as such."

Ren nodded in agreement, leaning away from the counter as he heard the kettle started to whistle. Blake rushed over to it and turned the heat off, pulling the two black mugs over as she did. Ren stepped up beside her and dumped the tea leaves into each cup, holding them steady as Blake poured the boiling hot water from the kettle into each mug. Once she set the kettle back down on the stove, Blake covered the top of each cup with a steeping pad and pushed them off to the side. She pulled her scroll out of her back pocket to check the time. 3:12. In two minutes, she'd pull the steeping pads off and add the sugar, or honey, or whatever it was that Ren wanted, granted she had it in the apartment.

"So, Blake, what do you usually take in your tea?" Ren asked. Blake turned her head to face him. Their shoulders were touching as it was, and she'd regret it if she moved. She shrugged.

"Sugar sometimes, honey other times. I mix it up, really," She responded. The only times she ever 'mixed it up' was when she couldn't find one sweetener or the other. Ren nodded though, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I prefer honey because it's healthier, but it never hurts to add sugar sometimes," He ran a hand over his head. His hair, while still wet, was drying up. "I like to add both sometimes, half sugar, half honey." Blake nodded along. She'd never tried it that way, but it sounded appealing.

"Hm. Maybe I'll try that," She replied. She finally pulled herself away from where she was standing, already upset at the lack of warmth, and reached into another cabinet to pull out the aforementioned sweeteners. Ren stepped away from the counter and leaned back against it once again.

"You don't happen to have any mint leaves, do you, Blake?" He asked skeptically. She turned to face him for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought. She shook her head.

"I don't know. I mean, Weiss buys a lot of different spices and such for cooking, but I don't know if mint leaves apply towards that. We could have some," She told him. His face was just as calm and stoic as before, but Blake couldn't help the feeling that she was failing him in a way. "I-I'll text Weiss and ask, is that fine?"

Ren stood up from the counter. "No, you don't have to, Blake." He responded. Blake waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it, Ren, it'll be fine. Besides, I kind of want to try it out now," She pulled her scroll out from her pocket and began texting out a message to Weiss. "Tea with mint leaves, I mean.

She hit the enter key on her scroll and surveyed her message to Weiss.

 _ **"Weiss. I was wondering if we had any mint leaves somewhere in the apartment. I wanted to try something new with tea."**_

Blake nodded, satisfied with it's simplicity. Shortly after, she received a message back.

 ** _"W: I believe we do. They should be in the regular spice cabinet next to the stove. Are you back at the apartment then?"_**

Blake's eyes flitted to the time on her scroll. 3:14. She rolled her eyes and walked over to the stove, pulling open the aforementioned spice cabinet and finding the mint leaves on one of the bottom shelves. She took it out and handed it to Ren.

"Are these okay? I'm sure Weiss hasn't used them at all, as she buys more spices than she'll ever need." Blake asked. Ren eyed them for a moment before looking back at her with a smile on his face.

"These are perfect. I'll add these now and we can leave it to steep for an extra minute. You want them too?" He asked her. Blake nodded in response and shut the spice cabinet, walking to the side to get out of his way. She typed out another message to Weiss.

 _ **"Yes. The cafe we went to closes early on Saturdays and Sundays. Ren walked me home and I invited him into the apartment so that he didn't have to walk home in the rain."**_

Blake decided to leave out Ren giving her his hoodie due to the rain. The less Weiss knew, the better. There was a short moment before Weiss replied back.

 _ **"W: How nice of him. Well, make sure he doesn't track any rain water across the apartment. I'll make sure to come back late for you."**_

Blake had a moment to chuckle quietly over Weiss worrying about tracking rain before the end of her sentence began to make sense. Her face hitched up several shades of red as she clumsily typed out a reply. It took much longer than it should have.

 _ **"Please, Weiss. Get your head out of the gutter."**_

She could imagine the other girl laughing at her expense and she released a groan in response. Ren turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised in question.

"What was that about?" He asked her. Blake stuffed her scroll back in her pocket, opting to ignore the vibration from it, issuing a new message. She quickly shook her head.

"Weiss's insinuations. It's nothing to worry about," She pulled the honey and sugar over, holding the both of them in Ren's face. "Which do you prefer we use? I'll put the other one away."

Ren tapped his chin, thinking for a moment before pointing to the sugar. "It never hurts to be a bit sweeter." He commented. Blake smiled and placed the sugar down on the counter, then turned around and shoved the honey back into the cabinet. Ren took hold of both mugs and brought them to the counter just underneath the cabinet and stood next to Blake. Their shoulders touched, Ren grabbed the sugar and brought it over, pulling the top open. Blake took the little spoon inside and dropped three spoonfuls of sugar into her mug, then mixed it in and handed the spoon to Ren. He did the same, shook the spoon off, and then dropped it back into the jar, which he deftly closed after that.

Blake took the jar and pushed it back into the cabinet, and Ren shut the cabinet door. Together, they picked up their mugs and brought them to their lips. They shared a brief glance and smile before they each took a short sip, mindful of how hot the tea still was.

A surprised, but satisfied sigh slipped from Blake's lips, and she quickly brought the mug up for another sip. She had never thought of using mint leaves in tea, as she usually let the taste of the leaves speak for themselves. However, she found that maybe she _should've_ tried it a long time ago. It was delightful, and if it wasn't for the heat emitting from the cup, she would've drained the mug already.

Steeling herself, Blake pulled away from Ren. He held his mug in one hand and the other was placed palm down on the counter. She took his hand with her right one and pulled him up from the counter, backing her way out of the kitchen and towards the living room. Ren raised an eyebrow, but made no effort to say anything on the matter, nor move against her.

She pulled him to the couch, and she promptly sat down in the leftmost corner of it, patting the cushion next to her before crossing one leg over the other and taking another short sip from her tea. Ren smiled and dutifully sat next to her, where she immediately leaned into him and placed her head on his shoulder. Blake snagged the remote off of the coffee table and quickly began flipping through channels. She didn't watch much TV, but it always served as nice background noise.

Blake only stopped once she found something decent; a gritty detective movie. To her, though, it didn't matter much of what she stopped on because, either way, she'd be happy. Sitting there, her head on Ren's shoulder and a cup of wonderful tea in her hand, she was content. She looked up at Ren. His hair had long since dried, and it ran down his back in long, tangled clumps. Blake resisted the urge to reach up and run her hands through his hair, sifting through the knots with her fingers. The only thing that really stopped her was the idea that Ren wouldn't appreciate the gesture. She let it drop from her mind.

Ren took a short sip from his mug and leaned back into the couch, sighing happily. He leaned a bit over, and his head fell softly on top of Blake's. His empty hand found hers and took it in it's own embrace. They had been holding hands a lot lately, to the point where when they weren't, their hands got annoyingly cold.

From where he sat, Ren could hear Blake's steady breathing. Each breath pushed her head upwards and, by relation, her hair. Each time it did fly up, it tickled Ren's cheek, a sincere smile finding it's way to his face because of it.

With Blake next to him, her breathing music to his ears and the warmth from their hands spreading throughout his body, Ren only had one thought:

'I could get used to this..'

* * *

 **Chapter 5 complete. This chapter turned out to be much longer than I originally intended. I wanted to cut it in half, yet I came to realize that the second half wouldn't have been as long as I'd wanted it to be. Likewise, I couldn't have made it any longer, as it would've ruined the feeling for me. It's whatever though. Take this long chapter as a token of appreciation.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	6. 6: A Good Turn or a Bad Turn

**It's nice to see that my second story, Mistletoe, is doing so well after just the first chapter! I'll be sure to keep up with the schedule I've set out to keep you guys satisfied. Enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

A little over two hours later, the rain finally stopped. Ren stuck around for another hour, sitting in mostly silence with Blake and pretending to watch various TV shows. He only got up to leave when he got a text from Nora, a sad/angry face preceded by the message " _ **Where are you?**_ " He decided at that point that maybe he should get on home.

Ren separated himself from Blake and made his way back into the bathroom. His shirt was dry now, as it probably had been for an hour or so now. He pulled it from the shower rod and pulled it back on. He stood in front of the mirror as he buttoned up his shirt, eyeing the tangled mess of black hair on his head. The rain had matted it down and tangled it up. Once it dried, it only got worse, sticking itself in strange ways and directions and pulling at his scalp if his hair got caught even slightly. Ren ran a hand over his forehead, pushing away the hair that draped over his face and pulling down the pink section. It was the only part that had managed to stay relatively neat during the rain's onslaught, though it was still stuck to his skin.

Suddenly, Blake was at his side. She turned him to face her, her hands resting on his shoulders, and looked up at his hair. Her own hair was still dry, saved by the grace that was Ren's hoodie, and hung to her shoulders in straight strands. She gestured up to his hair with a wave of her hand.

"Can I...?" She began to ask, her hands inching just closer to his neck. A shiver ran down Ren's spine, but he nodded and moved to sit down on top of the toilet seat so that she could reach his head better. Blake followed and stood in front of him, her face taking on a sudden wave of heat.

Starting slowly, she ran her hands from his forehead and up onto the top of his head. There were only slight tangles there, and she worked her fingers through them gently, pulling them apart and smoothing it down before she moved further up. Ren melted in her hands, leaning ever so slightly closer to her, leaving only inches between his forehead and her abdomen.

Blake hummed in response, her fingers working out the knots on both sides of his head before moving to the unruly mane in the back of his head. From where she stood, it was a bit difficult to get any leeway, though she wouldn't have changed anything if it had come to it. She worked her hands back behind his head, where a particularly stubborn knot just refused to submit. Blake worked her fingers through into the knot and pulled a little harder than she had meant to. Ren's head tilted back and he let out a pained groan. Blake, unwilling to move her hands, opted for rubbing circles on the back of his head with her fingers.

"S-sorry, Ren, that was a mistake, I...," Her voice frayed as Ren looked up at her. That was a view she could get used to. In a moment, she was lost in a sea of pink and it took all of her willpower to distract her gaze back to Ren's hair. The particular knot she was fighting against had loosened a significant amount, and she was able to push her fingers through it and pull it apart. A satisfied sigh slipped through Ren's lips, and Blake smiled, knowing that what she was doing had a positive effect on him. She ran her hands over his head, smoothing his hair out to a degree.

"Is..Is that better?" She asked eventually, still massaging his scalp. Ren nodded as stiffly as he could, not wanting to risk losing what he had at the moment. The two of them had drifted even closer after the short hair pulling incident, and now Ren's forehead touched Blake's abdomen ever so slightly. He held his weight back, just a bit, so that it wouldn't grow uncomfortable for her. The same could be said for Blake, who pushed herself slightly forward so that Ren's neck wouldn't hurt from him leaning too far in. Ren took a moment to process her question before answering.

"Yes, much better. Thank you, Blake." He risked his own comfort to gaze up at her once more, just to lock onto golden orbs of amber staring back down at him. Her face was a pale shade of rose, a tone that Ren found to be most fitting and...honestly a bit attractive. He tilted his head to the side at his own thoughts, though from Blake's point of view it may have seemed like an unspoken appreciation just for being able to stare at her. For Blake, it was flattering, and she was more than a little touched at the idea.

Stifling her thoughts, Blake gently took a hold of the length of pink in Ren's hair with one hand. It was softer, if possible, than the rest of his hair, and it flowed through her hands like quality silk. Her other hand, which had ceased it's ministrations, flitted to cup the back of Ren's neck. Blake was surprised at the warmth she felt there but made no comments, as her face had turned akin to a sauna.

Blake must've imagined it, but Ren seemed to push himself just a bit further into her. To accommodate, she gripped his neck tentatively and pulled him in a bit closer as well. Her mind ran wild with the possibilities of what would happen if this was one of the romance novels she read. Curse her pale complexion, though, as her face hitched up several shades of red at the thoughts and she promptly buried her nose into Ren's hair.

He smelled of rain, though that was to be expected. His usual scent of cherry blossoms and green tea had faded into a background aroma, though mixed with the natural smell of rain, it was all the more enticing. Blake soon found herself at a loss for breath, and she pulled up, panting, to catch her breath.

Likewise, what with Blake pulling him in, Ren's face was buried into her torso. His hands grasped the bottom edge of her flannel, pulling just enough to push himself as far upwards as he dared. The scent of rain was still heavy on her character, though it was muted out by either perfume or just Blake's natural smell of stifled berries and chamomile tea. It only added to what Ren already thought of Blake, and served to fuel what desire he allowed to break through his facade.

Ren grew daring. His hands let go of Blake's shirt, only to grip softly onto her waist and pull her closer to him. In response, both of Blake's arms encircled his neck, and she had to lift her head so she wouldn't hurt her own neck. The only way she'd be able to get back to where she'd been before was to sit in Ren's lap and...her face turned beet red at just the thought. It wasn't completely out of the question, though.

Blake pulled her arms from around Ren's neck and gripped his cheeks, pulling his face upwards to gaze into his eyes once more. The distance between them slowly began to lessen, Blake leaning slightly downward and Ren leaning up as well. The tilt of their heads came naturally, and as their lips neared one another, just a simple inch or so left between them..

Someone cleared their throat, and Blake jumped back so fast that her back was pressed against the wall immediately. Ren had retreated backwards, further up against the toilet, panting with his head down.

Standing in the doorway to the bathroom, Weiss stood with her arms crossed, staring sternly at the two in the bathroom. Ruby stood just behind her, peering over Weiss' shoulder with a large, goofy, grin plastered across her face. The heat from Blake's face at this point was just about unbearable.

"Blake," Weiss stated, making the girl jump a little as she separated from the wall. Blake attempted to smooth out her shirt, but to no avail, and gently clasped her hands in front of her.

"W-Weiss. I..didn't here you come in." Blake responded, her voice a little shaky but still calm. Ren looked up from where he sat, his face as emotionless as possible despite how pink his cheeks and the bridge of his nose were. Weiss waved her hand dismissively, her eyes darting between both Blake and Ren in a rapid fashion. Ruby gave the both of them a thumbs up from over Weiss' shoulder but made no other movements and kept her eyes on the spectacle before her.

"I would expect as much after that little... _display_ , if you will," Weiss said. She crinkled her nose and turned abruptly, her attention falling onto Ren. Her ponytail swished back and forth, almost smacking Ruby in the cheek, before settling down against her back. "You." She stated.

Ren nodded glumly and stood, his hands clasped behind his back. "Me. Hello, Weiss. I...," He glanced over at Blake, who glanced back, and then over at Ruby over Weiss' shoulder, who was still flashing him an award-winning smile. "..I apologize for that situation. I take full blame, if necessary."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Do you now?" She asked him. Ren nodded.

"I do. It seems I...overstepped my boundaries in your home," He responded. "If you wish for me to leave, that's understandable. I was on my way out myself, to be honest."

Weiss edged her chin upward a small degree, locking eyes with the man before her. "Before that little event, you mean?" She gestured with her hand, waving it back and forth from Ren to Blake and back again. The pink of Ren's cheeks burned a bit darker, yet he nodded once more in response. Weiss stared him down a moment before sighing, her composure falling.

"Well. I make no demands that you leave. That choice is up to you alone, and maybe Blake," Blake glared at her, yet Weiss continued without her gaze leaving Ren's. They upheld a bout of serious eye-contact. "For future reference, though, show a little restraint. Or at least, improve your hearing."

With a smirk and another flip of her ponytail, Weiss turned and walked out, in the direction of her bedroom. Only when the door opened and closed did both Blake and Ren let a sigh of relief slip through their teeth. Ruby flashed them a huge grin, plus another enthusiastic thumbs up, and walked away, back towards the kitchen and living room, leaving the two in the bathroom once again.

Now that his hands were free and his mind was...mostly distracted now, Ren smoothed down his shirt, pushing down the creases as best he could before stepping out into the doorway. He turned back to see Blake still leaning up against the wall, her eyes cast downward. He raised an eyebrow and reached out to brush some of her hair back over her shoulder. She barely reacted to his touch, merely looking up to face him. At the soft smile he wore, Blake's spirits lit aflame and a smile found it's way to her own face as well. She reached out and grasped his hand in her own and the two walked out of the bathroom together.

* * *

Just a little over ten minutes later, Ren and Blake were walking back down the stairs toward the first floor. The stairs were a bit slower than the elevator, and as such became the first, and only, choice when Blake decided she wanted to walk Ren back out front of the complex. Ren made no complaints, and they silently walked back out to the perch above the main door, hand in hand. They only stopped when the chilly air hit them once again.

Blake had returned Ren's hoodie, which he now wore over his shirt, the hood down in the back. Blake had donned her coat one again, just for the walk outside and to make sure she didn't get any chills from the wind. Ren was the first to break the silence between them.

"I appreciate you going out to the cafe with me, Blake. It was nice, sharing my solace with someone." He said, looking over at her with an appreciative smile. Blake returned the smile and nodded.

"It was a very nice cafe. That, and the fact that I spent the time with you, made it a very enjoyable experience," Her face turned a bit red, but she pushed it down. Ren turned to face her, his face as pink as hers was red.

"It's nice to here that you think so highly of me," Ren stated. "I am sorry about the thing with Jaune, by the way. He's a good guy but..he can be persuaded quite easily."

Blake raised an eyebrow in question. "I hadn't thought of it until now. What do you mean, persuaded?" She asked him.

"Nora's been to Oum's before, though she doesn't like it much because she's expected to be quiet," He started, tightening his grip on her hand merely for the sake of doing it. "If she'd assumed we were at Oum's, she'd have texted Jaune and asked him to take the picture. Or to stay vigilant, at the very least."

Blake's eyes widened a bit at this sudden revelation. It sounded exactly like something Ruby would do, and Blake couldn't help but wonder if there was some kind of alliance going on here. Ren caught her expression and nodded.

"Nora can be quite devious when she wants to." He confirmed. Blake fiddled with the edge of her jacket with her free hand.

"Ruby can be too, though I would assume she'd only have the best of intentions," Blake responded. Then she added; "I feel like the two of them would be great friends, if they were to meet."

Ren nodded his head in agreement. "They would be indeed. Though to be fair, I feel like that'd be hell for the rest of us. Nora's never been above pranks." A small smile graced his face once again, one that Blake returned in earnest.

"Neither has Ruby. If they were to become partners-in-crime, I fear for all of our safety." She deadpanned. Ren nodded his agreement, but couldn't help the larger-than-life smile that came to his face afterward. Blake raised an eyebrow, but she couldn't pretend that she was upset about that smile. He squeezed her hand and they locked eyes for a moment.

They sat in silence for a while, just basking in the other's presence and enjoying the company they provided one another. Blake leaned into Ren, resting her head on his shoulder and breathing slowly down his neck. It brought Ren nothing but pleasant shivers, and he rested his head atop hers, taking in her scent once again as if he'd forget it. Blake spoke up after a bit more waiting.

"I really enjoyed today, Ren," She looked up at him, an appreciative grin spread across her lips. "All of it, y'know. Even the...bathroom, thing." her face took on the shade of a tomato and she buried her face back into Ren's shoulder. He thought it was absolutely adorable. His mind replayed the scene that took place in the bathroom, and his face took on an ungodly shade of pink. He managed a smile through his slight embarrassment.

"Yes, I did too. Though, Weiss was...unaccounted for." He reached up to rub the back of his neck. Blake looked back up at him, smiling once again.

"You handled it well though. Either you'd been expecting it or you're good at thinking on your feet." She told him. Ren got complimented a lot for quite a few different things, but from Blake they seemed to matter more. He tilted his head in appreciation.

"Truth is I've learned to think quickly when it comes to it. Living with Nora assures that it's a very valuable talent," He responded. "Thank you for the compliment, though." He kept his face calm, but Blake could see the glint of satisfaction in his eye. She chuckled lightly, which sounded a bit like a purr to Ren. He shrugged. One more adorable thing added to the list. Plus, Ren had always liked cats. They understood him, in a sense.

"I'll miss this, to be honest with you," Blake said after a moment, nuzzling her nose up into the crook of Ren's neck. He tilted his head in the other direction to give her a bit more room. "The comfortable silences we've had today, despite everything else. How easy it is to talk to you, and such..It's very enthralling."

Ren's head perked up at her words, and a joyous, satisfied smile graced his lips. "I will too. Being able to just relax and drink tea in silence with someone is a bit of a new experience. Menta isn't much of a social person outside of work and Nora is far from quiet," He gripped her hand. "It's a nice experience though. It's just a shame that it's ending now."

Blake perked up with a sudden idea and separated herself from Ren to look at him. His smile was uplifting and his eyes seemed to captivate her every time she looked into them. His lips...God, she'd gotten so close to kissing him that the thought burned away in the back of her skull.

"It may be, but that doesn't mean it can't pick back up tomorrow. Do you work on Sundays?" She asked. Ren, smiling as he realized where she was going, nodded.

"Not usually, but I think I can make an exception. Menta would be more than joyful to have an extra day off." He responded. Blake nodded.

"How considerate of you. I can swing by tomorrow around four, is that alright?" She asked. Ren nodded and she continued. "Good. I suspect you've finished Issue Two by now, and I can managed to finish the Sea of Monsters before then. Maybe we could talk a bit more."

Ren nodded along. With no real input, as the plan seemed as perfect as it'd be able to be, he simply grinned. "It sounds like a plan then, Blake. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow."

A blush ran across her cheeks, but Blake ignored it to the best of her ability and smiled.

"Likewise, Ren. I'll try to stay as long as possible. Maybe I could even help out at the library, if time permits me to do so."

Ren smiled at the idea of working alongside her. "That sounds lovely," He glanced up, where the sky had gotten slightly darker. How long had they been standing outside now? He frowned. "..I believe I should take my leave. Nora will be upset enough, but maybe if I get there in time I can make it up to her."

Blake frowned as well and buried her face into his shoulder once more, taking in his scent. She then pulled away once more.

"That's fair. Go on, then, I'd hate for Nora to be upset with you, now." Then, before she could even think of stopping herself, She leaned in, stretching up on the tips of her toes, and planted a chaste kiss onto Ren's cheek. His face was warm, and the rain-muddled smell of cherry blossoms and green tea overwhelmed her sense. When she pulled back, she could see that Ren's face had turned a particular shade of pink.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ren." She stated, letting go of his hand and backing up to the main door. Ren's initial surprise left him and he smiled, bowing slightly as he took his first step back, out from under the perch.

"I'll see you then, Blake. I look forward to it." He responded. Blake turned and walked back into the complex, and Ren did the same, turning away and beginning to make his way down the street.

Once he was a bit far away, his hand drifted up towards his cheek, where the warmth from Blake's kiss lingered and burned away at his very being. His mind flashed back to the bathroom, where his lips had gotten so close to Blake's, he could feel her breath. In that moment, he was so tunnel-visioned that all he could think about was Blake. He'd felt her soft lips on his cheek, and he wondered how it'd feel to actually kiss her.

Ren shook his head free of the thoughts and zipped his hoodie up over his chest. The wind was chilled, but he could barely feel it. The warmth in his cheek soon spread throughout his entire body, and his mind was corrupted with thoughts of Blake's soft lips once again.

Mentally scolding himself for letting his thoughts get out of hand, Ren decided to focus much more on the things around him. The streets were pretty much empty, save for the occasional car and the one or two bicycles that went by him. Birds sang out in the air around him, pelting him with a melody so sweet and soft, he almost didn't want to go home. He looked up to the sky. It was a brilliant shade of blue, mixed in with pale clouds and streaks of red and pink as the sun descended from it's apex across the sky.

Ren sighed blissfully. With his mind free of Blake, for the time being anyway, he continued his walk home in silence, listening to the songs of the birds and of the world around him. In the back of his mind, however, he had a doubt of a thought.

 _The world may look and sound beautiful no matter how much I see it,_ he thought, _Blake will always be ten times more lovely._

* * *

Blake reclined with her legs up on the couch and with _The Sea of Monsters_ in her hands. It had been an hour or so since Ren had left, and since then she'd showered and changed into more house appropriate clothing; a simple pair of white shorts, a black v-neck blouse with a ribbon tied into a bow around the waist, and white shin-high socks.

She had one leg crossed up high over the other, kicking her dangling foot to an imaginary tune and bobbing her head to it as well. In the kitchen, Ruby and Weiss stood side by side, cooking at the stove. They'd refused to tell Blake what they were making, but if the mouth-watering smells coming from the kitchen were any indication, it had tuna in it. Blake would occasionally look up at them and either spot Ruby leaning in to kiss Weiss on the cheek, or she caught them in a lip-locking embrace in front of the stove. The few times it did happen, they didn't last very long, as Weiss was much too cautious about being in front of the stove to not cast scared glances over at it. Blake snickered and went back to her book each time.

Just as she neared the next chapter, Ruby cleared her throat. Dog-earring the page and shutting the book, Blake looked up to see Ruby waving her over, her usual giant grin taking up the majority of her face. Blake always managed to smile at the girl's childish exuberance and her never-ending excitement.

Getting up from the couch and walking into the kitchen, Blake leaned against the open doorway, where Weiss was working on the presentation on three different bowls filled with food. Ruby turned back to Weiss, helping her for a moment before turning around and smiling. Both her and Weiss wore matching white aprons with a pink heart and black words over it that read 'KISS THE COOK'. As Weiss turned around to face Blake, she took the apron seriously and pecked Ruby on the cheek appreciatively. Ruby showed her affection on a daily basis, yet when Weiss did it, it was surprisingly much more tender and harder to react to.

Ruby turned to face her, her cheeks bright and red. Despite how much she kissed Weiss herself, Ruby got flustered quite easily.

"Thank you for your help, Ruby." Weiss stated, smiling at the girl. Blake didn't see it much, but it was a genuine, completely happy smile. It was nice to see that, despite her icy cold exterior, it was possible for Weiss to actually _be_ happy. Weiss then turned to Blake, the smile still strung across her face, as she hadn't cared enough to even attempt to hide it. She was much too happy, and both Blake and Ruby picked up on that.

"Blake. Since you've broken out of your anti-social shell, Ruby suggested we treat you to a special dinner." Weiss stated, gesturing toward Ruby. The aforementioned girl eagerly nodded her head.

"Yup! Before you just read all the time, and while that's not really bad or anything, it never hurts to get out of the house with friends!" She exclaimed. Then, in a quick motion, she leaned forward and whispered into Blake's ear: "or boyfriends. Either one works." Before Blake had a chance to react or protest, she jumped back to Weiss' side, flashing her a big smile as Weiss turned away to show what they had made.

In each bowl was a pile of white rice, covered over-top with cooked tuna. Then, on top of that, lay chopped scallions, bits of shredded seaweed, and roasted white sesame seeds.

It smelled absolutely heavenly, and despite how different it was from how she was used to it, Blake could identify it immediately.

"You made Tekka Don for me?" She asked, baffled that Weiss and Ruby would go out of their ways to make such a foreign meal. Ruby nodded so fast, Blake was worried her head would fall off.

"Yea! I remember you telling me about how your mom used to make it for you when you were a kid, and I thought it'd be cool to do!" Ruby exclaimed, tilting forwards and backwards on the tips of her toes. "I know it's a little different, but we hope you love it anyway!"

Blake's eyes jumped from Weiss smiling, to Ruby grinning, and then to the childhood meal she'd grown to love so much. She nodded almost as hard as Ruby, a grin larger than life upon her face.

"Thanks, guys. This means a lot," Blake told them, bowing slightly as she did. Then, once her head was back up, she hungrily eyed the bowls on the counter. "Let's eat already, I can teach you guys how to use chopsticks."

* * *

A minute or so in, and it was crystal clear that teaching Ruby how to eat with chopsticks would prove to be a difficult task. No matter how much Blake told her to only move one stick, Ruby couldn't focus enough to follow through. In the end, she caved and just grabbed a spoon instead.

Weiss did fairly well, though she constantly dropped bits of food back into her bowl. It didn't seem to irritate her much, as she was way more focused on watching Ruby fumble with the chopsticks. When Ruby inevitably gave up, Weiss leaned toward her on the couch and pecked her on the lips.

"You'll get it next time," She assured her. Ruby smiled, despite her shortcomings, and happily ate with her spoon.

Blake was a master with chopsticks, never dropping anything and maneuvering the sticks around like miniature swords. She had, after all, been using them since she was a small child. If she wasn't adept at this point in her life, there was no hope for her at all.

The trio talked minutely as they ate, Ruby doing most of the talking and Weiss scolding her lovingly for talking with her mouth full. Blake barely commented on what they were saying, choosing to eat slowly and listen instead. It wasn't until Ruby asked her a question did she perk up.

"Hmm?" She asked, chewing the food already in her mouth and swallowing. Ruby had finished her dinner already and had set the bowl on the coffee table. She sat with her knees underneath her on the couch, leaning against the right arm of the couch and looking towards the others.

"I said," She started, leaning forward as she spoke. "What was that thing going on in the bathroom. Y'know, when Weiss and I got back?"

Blake's face burned up at the memory and she distracted herself with her food for a moment. After a short moment of her eating without answering, she looked back at the two of them.

"Ren had given me his hoodie on the walk here, after the cafe, and the rain had messed up his hair, so I offered to..untangle it for him. Things...," Her voice frayed, her cheeks burning as she spoke. "...took a turn, from there." Her eyes fell to the bowl in her lap. If she had been looking, she'd notice the matching, mischievous smiles that spread across both the other girls' faces.

"So...," Ruby started, shifting around until one leg fell back onto the floor. "Would you consider that a good turn, or a bad turn?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at Blake. The girls' blush only deepened, and she began to stutter and flail over her own words when Weiss interjected.

"It certainly looked like a good turn to me. I mean, Blake _always_ hears me come home," She turned to glance at Ruby before looking back to the blubbering mess before her. "It must've been _really_ good if you lost one of your senses."

Blake's thoughts came to a grinding halt as her mind replayed the scene over and over and over again in her head. A giddy smile spread across her face before she realized what was happening. As she did realize, though, she quickly clamped a hand over her own mouth and buried her face in the leftmost couch cushion. A muffled beating at her right pulled Blake's face back out from the cushion. Only when she could hear again could she tell that the beating nose had just been Weiss and Ruby laughing at her. Weiss had fallen backwards into Ruby, the latter holding the girl around her waist as the both of them cracked up at Blake's own dilemma.

Grumbling to herself, Blake picked up the throw pillow from her side of the couch and threw it at the girls. It hit Ruby square in the forehead and she fell back in the couch, pulling Weiss back alongside her. The girls continued to laugh as Blake moved her food from her lap to the coffee table and took hold of her book once again, determined to ignore the two next to her as best she could.

While she did find herself lost in the words of the book not too long after, her mind couldn't help but wander over it again and again; maybe due to Weiss and Ruby still laughing next to her, but it could've been her own fault as well.

The one thing she could solely focus on, however, was that she wasn't entirely opposed to that same scene happening over again. Next time, though, if it was a possibility, Weiss interjecting would be cut from the course of events. Maybe that way, they wouldn't have stopped abruptly as they had..

* * *

 **And that's Chapter 6. I enjoyed writing this one a lot. The next chapter is gonna be a bit bigger, not length-wise but story-wise. I'll leave it up to all of you to deduce what that may be. For those who don't know, Tekka Don is a Japanese Tuna Bowl. I like to think that Blake would be somewhat Japanese, as Menagerie always reminded me of Japan.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember to leave a review if you'd like. No matter how long or how short, your voices matter when it comes to these stories.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	7. 7: The First of Many

The next few weeks went by in a blur.

Sunday, after their cafe trip, Ren went to work at the library and Menta got the day off. An hour or so after opening, Blake came by and took up Menta's position, sitting at the front desk with Ren and aiding the few people that came in.

Nora came in to meet Blake, express how pretty she was aloud, and then crush Ren in a bear-hug before leaving and going off to meet a friend at the movies. Unbeknownst to both Ren and Blake, Nora was leaving to meet up with Ruby, who had offered to take her to see a movie she hadn't seen yet. With Weiss' permission, of course, they left for their day out only after Blake and Ren were properly out of the way so that they wouldn't get caught.

The next few days were more or less the same. Ren worked in at the library and Blake came by to visit every day, helping out in the library when Menta wasn't around, or just because she'd felt like it. Every time she left, she bid her farewell to Ren in the same way; a simple kiss on the cheek that left the both of them feeling warm inside for hours on end afterwards.

Each Saturday after the first one, Ren and Blake made it effort to visit Oum's Cafe. Jaune and Pyrrha were always happy to see them, and it was clear that Pyrrha refused to let another incident, like the first time, happen again. Sometimes after leaving Oum's, Ren would walk Blake home again. A few times, Blake persuaded Ren into walking her to _his_ apartment instead.

Like any other encounter, Blake left him off with a kiss on the cheek when she was sure no one was watching. Doing anything in public made her feel giddy and unsure about herself, so Blake avoided it as best as possible. Nothing like the first day at Blake's apartment happened again, mainly because Weiss refused to leave them alone in the apartment again. The same was said for Nora, the few times they were at Ren and Nora's apartment.

It all repeated in the same pattern, the only thing stopping the schedule after it had began was when snow first began to fall in Oniyuri.

At first, it was light and fluffy, like you'd expect from the first snowfall of the year. After a week, however, the snow began to come down harder and much more frequently. One particular morning, a Wednesday where Ren and Menta were at work in the library, the snow came up to their knees.

Ren didn't care much about it, as he had no strong feelings toward the snow either way. Menta, however, grunted in agitation when he had to come in that morning. Ren raised an eyebrow and asked him what was wrong.

"The snow. I had hoped it wouldn't get this high for a bit longer but this is faster than I thought," He replied, pulling his scarf and gloves off as he came into the library. "I'll have to leave soon to go help my parents."

"Ah, that explains it." Ren replied. Menta's parents were a bit old and didn't handle the snow very well. Every winter when the snow got particularly bad, Menta had to leave to take care of them, lest they get themselves in some sort of predicament. Ren had only seen him leave a couple of times before, but never for that long. To be fair, though, in Menta's defense, the snow had never gotten so badly so quick.

Menta nodded and sighed. His skin got paler in the winter and his hair seemed a bit darker in contrast to the pale white snow outside. His eyes were more sunken, as Menta had admitted to not being able to sleep very well in the cold. Ren felt bad for him, in all honesty, but there wasn't much he could do. Menta was the type of person to refuse help even if he needed it, and the best Ren could do was offer support.

The next day, the snow was worse. It had gotten half a foot higher, and the wind chill was terrible. Menta only came in that day to tell Ren that he needed to leave. Ren wished him luck and told him to give his parents his best regards. Menta left his copy of the library key, as well as a copy of Menta's apartment key and asked Ren to water his plants if he had the time. Ren promised he would at least once or twice a week and Menta was out the door, out into the snow-filled streets of Oniyuri once more.

* * *

"Are you sure you want me coming along, Ren? It would feel wrong, I..I didn't talk to him much, did I?" Blake asked. Ren had asked her to accompany him to Menta's apartment to water his plants. Blake had agreed, but as they walked up the stairs to his place, she became skeptical.

"It'll be fine, Blake, really. It's just to water his plants," They finally came up to Menta's apartment and Ren fished into his pocket to fetch the key Menta had given him a week ago. He wore pale tan jeans, tucked into the tall, shin-high, black boots that he wore. A long-sleeved black thermal shirt covered his upper body, a pale green jacket with black accents zipped up to his neck and the usual knee-length black duster coat over that. He wore his usual pink gloves and scarf as well, his scarf pulled up over his mouth and nose.

Blake hesitated behind him. "Just how many plants does he have?" She asked, extremely nervous about being in an apartment alone with Ren again. The last time the results had been favorable, but there was still the idea that someone would walk in on them if they'd even gotten as close as they had before. The difference this time being that no one else was around, but it still put her off a little. After having someone else around them for such a long time, it felt unnatural to just be with him.

She was dressed in black jeans tucked into black shin-high boots, like Ren. A white undershirt, covered with a thick black blouse and a black sweater, plus a hooded coat to cover her hair. Her hands were clad in black knitted gloves, and a white scarf was pulled up over her mouth. Despite all the protection she wore, she was shivering, and it took all of her will power not to let Ren hear her teeth chatter.

Ren shrugged as he pushed the door of the apartment open. "Only three, two mint shrubs, and a patch of roses," He looked back at Blake who had an eyebrow raised. He rolled his eyes in response. "Come on, now, we won't be here long."

Blake sighed and walked into the apartment after Ren, her nose immediately hit with the smell of mint. To their right was the kitchen, the floor black tiles and the walls a pale gray. Every appliance was steel gray, and the counters had gray marble tops and black wooded cabinets. A small window was up against the right wall, just above the microwave, and in it's window sill sat the first mint plant, clad in a small red pot and sat in the sun.

Further in, just next to the kitchen on the right, was the living room. The floors were dark, black carpet and the walls were pale green. A single gray couch sat in the middle of the room, it's back to Ren and Blake, and a simple flat screen TV sat across from it, up against the wall. Between the two was a small, round table made of dark wood.

Two more windows were up against the right wall, above and behind the TV. In one sat the second mint plant, and in the other was the rose patch. It's flowers were blood red, though one rose in the middle of the bunch was stark white. Ren remembered Menta telling him that it had started out red but it seemed like it had gotten more pale the more it grew. By the time it was fully grown, it had turned completely white. Ren thought it was beautiful.

Ren walked directly into the kitchen and began to fill a small cup with water.

"The roses will need more water now than the mint plants will." Ren stated as Blake walked up to him. She had taken her coat off and laid it across the counter, where Ren had did the same. Blake raised an eyebrow.

"How come?' She asked, eyeing the small mint plant in the window.

"Mint plants go dormant in the winter. They take in water the same, but it's distributed much slower. Chances are the water I put in there last week is still being used," Ren replied. He reached up and tilted the cup in his hand, letting a short fall of water drip into the cup before he brought it back down. "Still, it never hurts to add a bit more to be careful. We just have to be sure not to over water them."

Blake followed Ren into the living room where he watered the second mint plant, and then the roses. She took note of the white rose and smiled.

"Weiss would appreciate a flower like that." She commented as Ren came back down from watering them. He looked back up at it and nodded in agreement.

"She does have an affinity to the color white." Ren replied. Blake shook her head. He wasn't wrong, exactly, but there was more to it.

"It's not just that. She has a strong appreciation for flexibility and grace, the willingness to change for the greater good, even if it means being different from those around you," Blake gestured toward the white rose, surrounded by red. "It's almost a perfect analogy."

Ren turned to look at the roses. He could understand what she was talking about, it made sense. The only thing that left him pondering was what Weiss would've had to go through to have such a solid stance on the matter.

He shook the thoughts from his head. It was none of his business, and he would only ever inquire if it as brought up to him by Weiss herself.

"Well then," Ren stated, digging into his pocket and fishing out his scroll. "Let's take a picture of it then. We can't very well give her the roses, so a picture is the next best thing."

Blake stepped up to Ren's side and smiled as he lined his scroll up and snapped the picture. Once he did, he leaned over to show her, and she nodded, pleased with the turnout.

"They are very nice roses." She commented finally as she and Ren walked back to where they left their coats. Ren nodded in agreement before an idea suddenly hit him. He took hold of Blake's hand, directly her attention back to him. She raised an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Ren?" She asked skeptically. Ren shook his head and let up his grip, though he still gently held her hand in his own.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just figured we could stay here for a bit, to get out of the cold," He proposed, gesturing with his hand as he spoke. "It could be nice to stay warm for a while, right?"

Blake hesitated. She wasn't exactly _worried_ about being alone with Ren, just...okay, no, worried was the right word. It had nothing to do with Ren, per se, it just had everything to do with Blake. She was worried she'd do something Ren wouldn't like, worried that someone would interrupt again, and worried that Ren would think less of her in case she did something rash. Most of all, she was worried she wouldn't be able to stop herself if something happened.

Despite all these worries, Blake nodded slowly, blush burning across her cheeks. She let her coat slip from her hand and fall back onto the counter.

"Sure. It never hurts to want to stay warm," She replied, taking a step closer to Ren. "We could find something on TV to watch."

Ren smiled and, with a nod, took his scarf and gloves off, putting them next to his coat, and started back into the living room. Blake did the same and followed, plopping down next to him on the couch. Ren already had the TV remote in his hand and clicked the TV on. Sound filled the room, and Ren began quickly flipping through channels.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked, glancing over at her. Blake shrugged and leaned into him against her worrisome mind's suggestions. Despite the cold outside, Ren was warm and generated enough heat to melt Blake's frosty core. A satisfied sigh slipped through her lips and she wormed her way further into Ren's embrace, prompting him to lift up his right arm and cast it over her shoulder. Slowly, every worrisome thought she'd had in her head drifted and faded into the far reaches of her mind. She had no idea why she was worried in the first place. She knew herself and she knew Ren. She wouldn't do anything wrong, right?

Ren stopped flicking through channels and halted on an action/suspense TV show. It was in the middle of an all-day marathon, and Ren couldn't think of much else to watch. He spent all of five seconds focusing on the main character's plight before he glanced over at Blake and his attention was redirected. Ren didn't feel much of the cold himself, but Blake was _freezing_. He gripped onto her shoulder and pulled her closer in an attempt to share as much body heat as he possibly could. He heard her sigh again and a smile graced his face. Hopefully Menta wouldn't mind them borrowing his apartment for a bit. Suddenly, Blake spoke up.

"Do you think Menta has any tea here?" She asked, sitting up slightly. Due to the angle she was leaning at, it was particularly uncomfortable to sit up, so she steadied herself using her arm, pushing down slightly on Ren's leg. "I-I'd hate to take anything in his apartment, including food and drink, but I'm a bit thirsty."

Ren tilted his head in thought. "I'm sure he does. He drinks as much tea as I do. Would you like me to check?" He asked, shifting into a more proper sitting position.

Blake began to shake her head, but Ren stood up, so she stood up with him.

"I'll look with you. It won't take as long that way." She stated once Ren shot her a look of confusion. He mouthed out a slow 'ah' before turning and walking into the kitchen, Blake hot on his heals. Ren immediately went to check the cabinet next to the stove, while Blake went on to check the one's next to the potted mint plant.

Ren moved first, shuffling over and looking into the one's above the fridge after that. Blake, having no luck, shut the cabinets and turned away from them. She then walked over to the one's across from the fridge and began sifting through them. Unfortunately, she wasn't tall enough to reach the highest shelf and couldn't see into it. Groaning her displeasure, she turned around and leaned against the counter as Ren sifted through the other cabinets. Once he was sure that the tea wasn't there, he turned around, only to see Blake looking at him expectantly. He tilted his head in confusion.

"What is it, Blake?" He asked calmly. She lifted her arm up and pointed to the top shelf. Ren didn't understand, so he looked back to her with a raised eyebrow. Blake sighed.

"I can't reach or see into the top shelf," she explained. Ren mouthed out 'Oh' before turning and looking up over top the shelf. He couldn't see all the way back, and he wondered if the one inch difference between his and Menta's height really meant that much, but it didn't stop him from spotting a box of green tea in the back left corner of the cabinet. Behind and around that box, were several other boxes of unopened tea; oolong, chamomile, black, white, yellow, herbal fruit, and several others that Ren couldn't quite see. He nodded, a little proud. It was a modest collection, but it was a good one.

Without much further thought, Ren closed the distance between him and Blake and reached up into the cabinet above her, his hand grazing the box of green tea before he was able to fully grasp it. Blake felt herself being pushed backwards over the counter, and held her hands up in front of her, as a first reaction to technically being forced to move. She pressed her hands softly against Ren's chest, though she didn't really push him back. It was more of a way to steady herself, to make sure she could stay standing given the circumstances.

Once Ren was able to get a good grip on the tea, he began pulling it out of the cabinet. Unfortunately, he over-estimated the angle at which he was holding the box, and as he pulled it over the threshold of the door, it tilted and slipped out of his hand, falling right between both Blake and Ren. They made the mistake of bending down to reach for it at the same time.

"Oh, sorry, I'll...", "I'll get that..." The both of them said simultaneously. They bent down to pick up the box and bumped heads, Blake recoiling back as much as she could with the edge of the counter digging into her back and brought a hand to her forehead. Ren recoiled just a bit, rubbing at his forehead with fervor.

Both their eyes glanced down at the box of tea on the floor between them, and then darted back up to the meet the other's eyes. Despite the fact that they'd technically been together for weeks now, it was still a wonder to the both of them to just stare into the other's eyes. Ren was always met with deep, piercing amber, almost golden, that resembled a field of wheat in a gentle wind. Blake would only ever see an ocean, waves of pink with the occasional ripple that spelled out beauty itself. For a moment, the two of them were captivated.

Their captivation ended when Blake felt herself leaning forward. Her complete and utter worry over being alone with Ren began to creep back into her head, and to push the thoughts away, she quickly bent down to pick up the box of tea. She came back up with it in her hand, yet Ren was just as close as he was before.

Blake's mind fought with itself. On one hand, she really wanted to lean forward, lessen the distance between them, and see just what Ren was about. On the other hand, she was worried Ren wouldn't appreciate it, wouldn't want the same thing.

 _To be fair,_ A pesky voice in the back of her head began to say, _You'll never know what he wants until you try what you want._

 _That...makes a lot of sense, actually._ Blake thought back to...herself? Could you properly talk to your own conscience? She shook that particular vein of thoughts away as she went back to the other.

There was no real way to know whether or not Ren would react negatively to her leaning in. If it was anything like...before, Blake's cheeks burned at the thought, he seemed just as eager as her, in some cases. Whenever Blake kissed him on the cheek, she could sometimes see him straining to react, mentally thinking over what he should do. In most cases, he simply smiled warmly and hugged her before she left. Once or twice, he kissed her back, a light peck on the cheek that made Blake's heart flutter.

She decided to test the waters first, leaning in slowly, tilting her head to the right. She saw Ren hesitate and was prepared to pull away, though before she could, Ren reciprocated, leaning in and tilting his head off in the other direction. Blake's heart began to beat voraciously, pounding away against her rib cage. Instinct told her to pull back, stemmed from a lifetime of awkwardness in close quarters, but she fought against it and pushed onward.

Likewise, Ren was practically quivering in his boots. Though not literally, as his stoic facade wouldn't allow him to do so. Regardless, his mind ran wild with the possibilities. Ren had never pushed himself much further than a simple, appreciative, kiss on the cheek occasionally when he felt bold enough to do so. Even then, Ren had always felt as if it was a bit much. Sure, they'd been 'together' for a few weeks now, but no matter what, Ren always felt as if he was over stepping his boundaries. After being caught by Weiss the first time, Ren double, triple, and quadruple thought over his actions before commencing in any action regarding Blake.

However, as it was, Blake was clearly pushing ahead of him. That, on top of the fact that they were in Menta's apartment and no one actually knew where they were, added onto the sudden burst of confidence Ren got. Pushing aside his worry for the moment, he leaned in alongside Blake, his skin prickling and the hair on his neck standing up as the distance between them lessened.

Blake had long since closed her eyes, and as such yelped in surprise when she felt soft lips meet her own. Her first thought was that Ren would pull away because of it, and her hands immediately shot up to grip onto his arms, keeping him in place. Ren complied, placing his hands palm-down on the counter behind her and leaned into the kiss.

They started off slow, simple contact with the both of them adjusting to what they'd finally gotten around to doing. Then, at the same time, their lips began to move against one other, slowly at first until they found a rhythm, and then it was like a dance, maybe a ballet. Light, and soft when contact came, but pleasant despite it all. Their lips moved in tandem with one another, Blake taking in Ren's smell as her hands dropped from his arms, only to swing back up and coil around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss.

Blake was, simply put, ecstatic. She thought back on herself being so pent up and worried earlier. Now, that she was in the thick of kissing Ren, she couldn't even remember _why_ she had been so worried. It made her feel foolish. Instead of focusing on that, however, she focused more on the pair of lips that were gently pressed up against her own.

Cupping the back of Ren's neck with both her hands, Blake pulled him a bit deeper into the kiss. So much so that his teeth grazed her lip. She yelped out but quickly melted back into the kiss. It wasn't exactly painful so much as it was... _exhilarating._ Blake was upset with herself that she'd even been nervous at all! Unfortunately for her, she was getting a bit lightheaded, and the same could be said for Ren.

After a particularly drawn out moment of lip-locked-love, the two of them pulled away, panting heavily and just simply staring at each other. Looking into Ren's eyes, Blake saw something that she wasn't used to;pure desire. It made her breathing hitch up for a moment, a blush deeper than what was already there running across her face as if it was a marathon. She wasn't used to seeing that look in regards to herself, and it felt wrong to think that she could even _get_ someone to that point.

But the proof was in the pudding. Ren was in front of her, her arms still encircling his neck and his hands still placed firmly on the counter behind her. She was, effectively, locked in, though she hardly had a problem with that. She was both worried and excited about what would happen when they were to catch their breath, speculating that either Ren would pull away, or that he would want to keep going. It was strange, seeing as thoughts like those had basically never crossed through her mind before. Well, maybe except once, but Blake didn't talk about that anymore.

When Ren's panting finally died out, though, Blake got the answer to her thoughts. He leaned in again, much faster this time, and pulled her into another, albeit deeper, kiss. She yelped in surprise, though it quickly melted into that of a happy moan as her hands slipped and gripped Ren's shoulders. She could feel herself growing weak in the knees, maybe from pure exhaustion or exhilaration, she couldn't tell. Ren's were the same, though he would almost sacrifice his pride if it meant he could keep kissing Blake.

He couldn't even _remember_ the last time he had felt so good. Maybe it was something from his childhood, drinking tea with his mother as she planted flowers in her garden, or sitting and listening to Nora as she rambled on and on about nothing in particular. Despite the happy memories he kept bringing up, they all paled in comparison to almost anything he had done with Blake in the past few weeks, whether it be the actual kissing they were doing now, or just simply sitting next to each other, reading, drinking tea, or pretending to watch television. As long as they were in each other's company, Ren felt like he was on the top of the world.

Much sooner than before, they finally pulled away from the kiss, Ren panting once more and Blake staring up at him with wonder-filled eyes. Ren's mind wandered, mentally smacking himself around for waiting so long, and then getting into thinking about Blake in this situation.

 _How long had she been waiting for this?_ he asked himself, and suddenly he felt a little bad for delaying it as long as he did. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but smile. His hands drifted from the counter top and gripped lightly onto her waist. He wasn't sure if his voice worked anymore, but he attempted to speak.

"So...," His voice was quiet, much calmer than he'd thought it'd be, and collected. He plucked the box of tea from the counter behind them, where Blake had set it down before their little 'session'. "..Do you still want that tea, Blake?"

Stuck at a loss for words once more, Blake simply nodded slowly, a smile gracing her face. It finally felt right to think, though she probably wouldn't say it aloud, that Ren was her _boyfriend_.

* * *

 **There's Chapter 7! Once again, I'm pleased with this, though there were some things I feel I could've done better. Announcements though.**

 **Menta won't be gone forever, just over the course of the winter. When it makes the transition back into Spring, I'll bring him back. Unfortunately for him, I plan on writing out the Winter season in it's entirety, maybe skipping just a few days here and there, though probably never as much as an entire week.**

 **One more thing! There might not be an update this Saturday, as I'll be on a work-related trip that may hinder my writing. It'll come late Saturday or probably early Sunday if I can get work done. I'll try to get as much done as possible, but I cannot control the future or how things affect me.**

 **All that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave me a review if you feel like it, anything you guys say means quite a bit to me.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	8. 8: Frozen Bundle of Joy

Ren pulled the pale green steeping pad from atop his borrowed mug and brought the cup up to his lips, inhaling the scent of the tea before he actually tasted it. He was surprised to see, or taste, actually, that it was really good. He glanced over at Blake, who had a similar expression on her face.

He chided himself. Of course it'd be good, Menta had picked it. Regardless of how he acted sometimes, Menta was a smart, sophisticated guy. Ren could remembered associating him with the likes of Cardin, a jock from college, and his cronies, aptly called CRDL by most of the campus. Ren had assumed he was like them; jocks who boasted about themselves and put other people down to pull themselves up. He'd never had a real reason to think that, just that he'd taken one of Menta's first jokes to him the wrong way.

Once they'd actually had a chance to talk and such, Ren found that they were a lot alike. They had became good friends, and once Ren had introduced his roommate and his workmate, they'd became good friends as well.

After Menta's jokes about Ren and Nora becoming an object dispersed, Ren began to make the same jokes about Menta and Nora becoming an object in retaliation. Nora blushed like a madman(madwoman?) and denied it a thousand times a minute. Menta shrugged, though the red in his face betrayed his cool facade, and sarcastically asked Ren for his blessing. That night had ended with both males in question with minor injuries and a very peeved Nora on their hands, though mostly on Ren's.

A smile graced his face as he thought over all the times he, Menta, and Nora had hung out together. The smile quickly fell as he remembered his friend's problem, and he silently hoped that both Menta and his parents would be safe this winter.

A slight tap on his arm directed his mind and attention back to the current, instead of the past, and he looked over, where Blake looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"What're you thinking about?" She asked, turning in the couch to face him. After making their tea, the couple had gone back into the living room, where the same TV show marathon was playing. They had payed some attention to it, and it wasn't actually bad. Ren made a habit out of not watching TV much, but he enjoyed the show.

Ren merely shrugged. "Menta. I feel a little bad, using his apartment this way while he's gone," he admitted. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Though I'm sure had I asked, he would've offered anyway. I just hope that he and his parents come out on top while he's away."

Blake nodded thoughtfully, leaning down to sip from her mug again.

"I don't know him much, but he's a strong guy, from what I can tell," She responded after a moment. "If he's like that, his parents must be even stronger. I have faith."

Ren found himself smiling again, and he nodded in agreement.

"They are indeed, and I've got no reason to worry," Ren, bustling up some leftover courage from earlier, leaned down and pecked Blake on the lips. "Thank you, Blake."

Her heart flitted around in her chest, and it took _so_ much self-control for her to not jump up and kiss him back. She merely reciprocated and nodded at his words. Turning back to the TV and leaning up against Ren's shoulder, she sighed contentedly.

Blake was right. Menta would be fine, and there was no need to worry. Plus, there was something in front of them that required, no, _deserved_ his attention much more. Blake's arms coiled up around his as she finally finished off her tea and set the mug down on the table. Ren relaxed into the back of the couch, steadying his own heart to listen to Blake's breathing. It was calming, and it grounded him to the present, rather than the past or the future, and made him feel better overall.

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Ren was content with just relaxing with Blake and watching TV, and Blake was the same, moving so that her ear was over Ren's heart so that she could listen to his heartbeat. Ren had a hand held just over the small of her upper back, rubbing small circles through her sweater. Blake virtually melted into the embrace, a satisfied sigh that sounded more like a purr slipping between her lips. She made no effort, however, to stop the next few as they came out in tandem with the first. Ren said nothing, only slumping back into the cushioned seat beneath him and gently tugging Blake as close as their already-close proximity would allow him. He was warm, saved from the cold snow and chilling wind outside, a cup of tea was in his hand, and snuggled up against him, was his girlfriend.

 _Girlfriend._ It still felt like such an odd word for Ren to even think about. He wasn't very big on relationships himself, aside from middle school 'relationships', Ren didn't have much experience in the matter. He was working solely off of what felt right, and what he'd read in cheesy romance novels. They probably weren't the best influence, but it was better than nothing.

Ren wondered if Blake had any more experience than he did. It was a strange thought, and it brought a slightly pink tone to his face.

Pushing the thought aside, Ren sighed and slipped deeper into the embrace. His long hair had grown unruly behind him, slipping over the back of the couch, over his own shoulders, and a bit of it just barely grazed the top of Blake's head. The pink in the front was still, though, rested just next to his eye.

Nora had always questioned him about that-his hair being differently colored like it was. It was genetics, all natural, but Nora was determined to see through what she assumed was a lie. He'd played the game with her for a while, always coming up with dumb answers like, 'I needed to,' or 'Because it was the right thing to do,' and the ever so prevalent; 'Because I like the color pink."

After meeting Menta, Nora even tried to get _him_ involved, but Menta calmly declined.

'I've got no reason to believe it isn't his natural hair color,' Menta had stated. 'Just like you've got no reason to believe that this isn't mine.' Gesturing up to his own, pale mint green hair. All of them knew it wasn't natural: Menta had been dying his hair since middle school, as he told them, but that had come after this particular conversation.

Nora, defeated, relented with a pout. Ren, who was an expert at diffusing her anger, had found himself powerless in this transaction. Nora refused to even acknowledge his existence. Only an offer of burgers and milkshakes from Menta had pulled her from her stupor, and Ren had found himself alone in the library merely five minutes after that. They'd started spending a lot of time together, Ren had noticed, but he paid it no mind. If there was something to be known, they'd tell him. After all, they were all friends, right?

* * *

It was another twenty minutes before Ren and Blake decided they'd spent enough time at Menta's apartment. They'd gone there initially just to water his plants and leave, but instead they had made out in his kitchen and snuggled up together on his couch. Ren felt a pang of guilt as he finally pulled his coat back on, and promised himself he'd at least tell Menta sooner or later after he got back.

Blake stepped out into the hall, followed by Ren who shut the door behind them and locked it with the spare key Menta had given him. They'd turned everything off, washed out their mugs, and made sure everything was left as it was before they'd gotten there.

Now, as the two of them made their way back downstairs, hands and fingers entwined, Ren began to wonder. He'd asked Nora if she'd wanted to come with him first, as she often loved visiting Menta's apartment, but she'd declined. He had noticed lately, as well, that she'd been a lot less... _Nora-like._ A lot less jumpy and excited, and a bit more mopey. Ren had no idea why, but Nora often came forth with whatever it was bothering her when she felt like it. He had realized a long time ago that pushing Nora into talking would do him much more harm than it would good.

The couple finally stepped out into the cold once more, the icy bite of the wind meeting them as soon as they stepped foot back out into the snow. It was falling lightly, though the wind was strong and there were already a couple of inches of snow on the ground. A shiver ran down Ren's back, and he felt Blake lean closer into him for warmth.

Menta didn't live very far from Oum's, and Ren and Blake figured they would go there, to chill for as long as they could before they decided to part ways. Blake and Pyrrha had become friends quickly, and the same could be said for Blake and Jaune. One afternoon, just before they were leaving, Jaune and Pyrrha had pulled Ren aside, speaking in hushed tones.

'You've found a gem, Ren,' Jaune stated, and Pyrrha had nodded her head in agreement.

'Don't let her go. Whatever you do, just don't let her go.' Pyrrha finished. At the time, Ren had simply nodded and went about the rest of their hadn't thought much on it since then, but as he sat with Blake before, and now as he walked back through the snow, her shoulder against his and her hand clasped tightly in his own, he began to understand.

Unconsciously, he nodded. To himself, and to Jaune and Pyrrha. Now, in his mind, letting go of Blake wasn't even an option. A smile graced his face. It never would be.

* * *

They arrived at Oum's just over ten minutes later. The walk was never really that long, though the snow had been fighting against them as hard as it possibly could have. Or, maybe not as hard as it could've, but as hard it had attempted to. Nonetheless, in the end, Ren and Blake reigned supreme, and they celebrated their victory with herbal tea and hot noodles.

Collapsed into Ren's usual table, which had lately become Ren _and_ Blake's usual table, the both of them brought their seats together and relaxed into the cushions. Their hands found one another again over the armrests, a sight that neither of them cared much of anymore.

After spending a minute pretty much laying in the chairs, Ren and Blake sat up and straightened themselves out, though their hands stayed entwined the entire time. No words were exchanged, as they didn't really know much of what to talk about. That changed when Pyrrha came over, their tea in her hands and a worried expression on her face.

"Ren, do you know what's wrong with Nora?" She asked. Ren, who hadn't been paying much attention, did a bit of a double take before looking up at the girl, his eyes and face as stoic as ever. He cleared his throat.

"I don't, no. With Nora, you can't really push her to talk," He pulled his own cup toward himself and passed Blake hers. "More often than not, it just ends up making things worse. Why do you ask?"

Pyrrha stood straight up, her fingers finding the edge of her shirt and fiddling with it.

"She was here earlier, drinking tea. Nora never comes here because it's too quiet, and she always gets soda, or something else bubbly," She glanced back at Jaune, who was making the noodles. "She didn't even talk to us! She asked for green tea, and left as soon as she was done. I had hoped it wasn't serious, but if she hasn't even told you..." She trailed off. Luckily she didn't even need to finish her sentence, as Ren had already picked up on where she was going.

Blake let go of Ren's hand to take a sip of her tea. She didn't grasp it again once she was done.

"That can't be good," She replied, looking between the two of them. Her face showed no hint of emotion, but she was a bit worried. "Do you know where she went after she left?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Not a clue. We tried calling, but she didn't pick up her phone. We called your apartment too," She looked to Ren as she said it. "No answer."

Ren's eyes were downcast, into his own cup of tea. One of his hands rested just underneath his chin, the other on the table, stretched out toward Blake the way he'd left it. He hadn't moved much since Pyrrha began talking.

The girls exchanged nervous glances. It wasn't unusual for Ren to grow quiet, but this was different.

They sat in silence for a minute or so, and only Jaune's arrival with the noodles jarred them from their stalemate.

The loud clacking of ceramic pulled the three of them back into the real world as Jaune set the bowls down on the table in front of both Blake and Ren. Glancing up, Ren looked at Jaune. He had a bright smile on his face, his eyes nearly close due to the effort of it. He didn't speak, merely nodding to all three of them before turning around and walking back behind the counter. Pyrrha, finally snapped out of her own head, followed him.

Blake and Ren sat in silence another minute before Blake decided to give in and eat. There were already forks and spoons on the table, but Jaune had given the both of them a pair of chopsticks as well. Blake broke them apart and began to eat. Ren stayed quiet, his eyes focused back down into his tea. Whatever it was bothering him, he'd speak up. Or so Blake continuously told herself. She ate like it didn't bother her, but the silence was beginning to grow unnerving. Ren had never been so quiet, just the same as how Nora had never been that quiet either. It was odd, to think that the both of them were so similar yet so different in so many complex ways.

In a flash of movement, Ren was up from his chair. His seat skidded against the wooden floor behind him, and as soon as Blake looked up to follow his movements, he dropped a quick 'Sorry, Blake,' and was gone. He grabbed his coat, leaving everything else back around the table, and darted out the door, back out into the snow.

Blake glanced from his seat, to the door, and then up to Pyrrha and Jaune, who stood stock still behind the counter, their expressions mirroring her own; Full of shock and surprise.

Jaune rushed out from behind the counter, tossing his uniform over the edge, and followed after Ren, big scarlet-red coat grasped in his hand as he did. Before he left, he looked back at Pyrrha and Blake, and flashed the both of them a cheeky smile.

"I'll go get him." Was all he said. Pyrrha nodded, determination flashing across her face, and Blake felt the need to do the same.

Only she didn't. She wasn't sure what to think, nor what to do.

Jaune didn't wait for her to nod. He was out the door, gone with the wind and the snow, and Blake as left to fester in her thoughts.

* * *

 **That's Chapter 8. This chapter was never meant to be very long, but with my work over the weekend of last week, the details got mixed up in my head, and it devolved into me re-writing this chapter over about three or four times.**

 **To answer a review on the last chapter: conflict!**

 **I'm not a big fan of conflict all that much myself, but I must face the facts when I say it does add character and appeal to a story like this one. This won't be the only instance, just the first, and I'll keep this one a bit brief, maybe drawn out over a couple days in the story's time.**

 **All that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Updates should be back to normal next week. Leave a review if you want, anything and everything helps me out.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	9. 9: Best Friends

**This chapter is short too. I apologize, as I realize I could've just combined this one and the last one and made a much better update. It's whatever though, so I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Ren was a little worried, that much was obvious.

In honesty, he didn't like the snow much. He could deal with it when there wasn't too much, just a thin layer across the ground. That much was simple.

When it came to half a foot of snow that threatened to pull him in on every step, it made him absolutely livid. Only on the inside though, of course. On the outside, he was still just as stoic as ever. Aside from a slight twitch in his right eye.

His long coat billowed out behind him in the wind as he stormed through the snow, on his way home. He was vaguely aware of someone behind him; heavier footsteps and when he could see it, the sway of a red coat. He deduced that it was Jaune, though he did nothing about him following. No, he could care less.

In his head, something was telling him he should've explained something to Blake. He'd just walked out on her, leaving her lost and confused.

He grimaced as the realization of what he'd done finally begun to settle on him. His steps slowed, and Jaune caught up with him. The blond rounded around until they were facing each other. His nose was red from the cold, and his golden blond hair was speckled and covered in snow. Ren could only imagine what he himself looked like, his black coat and hair, now covered with white.

Jaune's eyes searched Ren's face, though it found nothing. The blond was taller, by two inches or so, but he often slouched, making him look shorter than he really was. Now, he stood straight, determination flashing over his face.

"Ren." He said. That was it, just his name, and Ren felt a flash of anger. This was a waste of time.

"That's my name, Jaune. I hope that wasn't all you stopped me for." Ren retorted, his voice calm and his form stoic, despite the seething anger behind his glare.

Jaune waited for a moment before responding. "You left Blake. Do you know how bad that looks?"

Ren's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, but he shut his eyes a second later and they fell once more.

"I'm aware of what I did, and please, tell her sorry for me," He started, despite the fact that he'd said it already. "But I have to find Nora. Surely you understand how important this is."

Jaune nodded, the malice in his eyes dropping an identifiable amount.

"I get it, Ren. Pyrrha does too, we know you guys. But Blake...she hasn't known you as long as we have. She'll be confused."

Ren brought a hand up to stroke his chin. The wind was still whipping at them, and the cold was beginning to draw into his face.

"I know, and I'll make it up to her when I get back. Just...," He hesitated, trying to find the words. "..keep her there for me, will you?"

Jaune nodded once more and clapped Ren on the shoulder, tilting the stoic male over just a bit. There was his usual sheepish smile, plastered across his face, once again.

"You have my word," Jaune replied. Then, in the span of a second, his smile dropped and his eyes grew serious again. "Text me, or any of us, when you find Nora, alright?"

Ren smiled. "You have my word as well. I'll try to be back as soon as possible."

Jaune squeezed his shoulder in appreciation and turned away, slowly beginning his walk back to Oum's. Ren watched him for a moment, apologizing over and over to all of them-mostly Blake-, and then he turned and began to briskly walk back through the snow, on his way to their apartment. Surely Nora would be home.

* * *

She was home, but she definitely wasn't herself.

Ren had made it to their apartment in record time, despite the snow, and quickly unlocked the front door.

All was quiet inside, and that was his first tip that something was wrong. Even if Nora wasn't in the living room, she always left the TV on. 'For the noise!' she had always told him when he asked her why. The ghost of a smile spread across his face, though he stayed as stoic as ever as he stepped into their shared apartment and shut the door behind him.

The lights were all off, and the curtains over the window in the living room were pulled closed. The living room was it's usual mess, but multiplied by five. Whereas there were usually Nora's papers, drawings, or writings or anything on the floor, now there were whole books, pulled from Ren's bookshelf and some that he didn't recognize. A black shirt was slung over the back of the couch, and Ren quickly realized that it belonged to Menta. Or at least, it used to. Nora stole it from him, though he knew she had it and just did nothing about it. 'Girls will have fun, Ren. It's whatever, yea?' Ren recalled him saying. He hadn't understood it, but he also hadn't questioned him.

Hidden in a mountain of thick blankets, her own, Ren's, and a few that they kept in the hall closet, was Nora. Her hair was dark and dry, a bit ratty and unkempt. Her eyes were nearly bloodshot, whether from exhaustion or crying, Ren couldn't tell, as that was all he could see of her.

She barely registered his presence as he walked into the apartment, just a slight glance in his direction and then her eyes were back pointing forward; at the black TV screen that currently showed nothing.

Ren pulled his coat off and hung it up by the door as he usually did. He only glanced in Nora's direction about eight hundred times as he did it, but he was still pretty low about it. He then walked over and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, crossing one leg over the other as he normally would. As if there was nothing wrong.

They sat in silence for a minute or so, Nora huddled up into her cocoon of blankets, and Ren sitting with his legs crossed. Both their eyes were glued to the darkness of the TV screen, neither of them making any sort of move to look or talk to the other. Eventually, Ren broke the silence.

"This is a really good episode. Do you think they'll be able to defeat Lord Laini at the end of it, Nora?" He asked, tilting his head in a bird-like gesture in her direction. His eyes didn't leave the screen, and neither did Nora's, though her head did peak up at bit at his voice. Aside from that, they did nothing.

"..."

"I think so too. Lyric and Xander always find a way to win." Ren replied, seemingly to himself. Nora glanced at him, her eyes halting a bit longer before darting away once again.

"..."

"You're right about that. Laini has gotten a lot stronger after taking over the Morrian army. Maybe he'll have a few tricks up his sleeves?"

"..."

"I think the dinosaurs with laser guns was a one-time thing, Nora. Surely he wouldn't do it again. Lyric beat them once already, didn't she?"

"...heh."

"I mean, really, even if she wasn't around, Xander's got a lot more brute strength. He could probably throw one a hundred feet if he wanted to."

"...Hehehe.."

"You're right, _two_ hundred feet. He's insane, Xander, he really is."

"..Hehehehehehe,"

"Lyric doesn't have that same brute strength though. She matches it with grace and skill."

Nora sniffled and, emerging from her cocoon of blankets like a beautiful butterfly, reached over to punch Ren in the arm. He smiled and turned to look at her. She was still clad in her pajamas, pink shorts and a white t-shirt, and Ren could see now the faint marks that traced their way down her face. Her eyes had been red from crying, though he said nothing about.

"I can't believe you paid attention to that show at all." She said, her voice hoarse from lack of use. Ren shrugged.

"How could I not? You watch it every day, and maybe I thought it was pretty good," He responded, scooting closer to her and ruffling up her hair a bit more than it already was. "And besides, the story is really good."

Nora giggled and leaned into him, flinging her arms around him in a hug. It was a weak one, but she was getting closer to her older self.

Ren hugged back, and they sat that way in silence for a minute before Nora cleared her throat.

"Sorry Renny. For making you and everyone else worry, I just...," Her eyes darted over to Menta's t-shirt on the back of the couch and then back to Ren. "..Menta won't answer his phone."

Ren's eyes may have widened, just a bit, but he quickly shrugged it off. He had noticed as well, that Menta hadn't answered any of their calls. It was peculiar, but he assumed that Menta's parents just didn't have good phone reception where they lived. He'd written it off as an unfortunate coincidence. Nora, however, had not.

Ren shuffled a little closer to her.

"You're worried about him?" Ren asked, though it was more of a statement than anything. Nora nodded.

"I wanted to check up on him, just to make sure that everything was going okay," She started, gesturing with her hands, albeit lightly. "But he didn't answer the first time. I assumed he was busy, so I waited an hour or two. Then I called back and...he didn't answer again. So I just kept calling and he..."

Her voice choked up, and Ren pulled her down into a hug to save her the embarrassment. Her own arms latched around him again, tighter this time. She was getting some life back into her.

When they finally separated, Nora's eyes were watery again. Ren ran his finger under each eye, dabbing away any fresh tears that had accumulated.

"Hey, Menta's a strong guy," He reminded her, his thoughts going back to what Blake had told him earlier that day. "If anything, he'll come back stronger than he was before. He wouldn't want us worrying about him, alright?"

Nora sniffled again, and then a small, sheepish smile spread across her lips. Ren smiled in retaliation.

"You're right! He'll be fine..," She said, standing up and stretching as she did. She wavered, and Ren stood to catch her before she could fall. She shot him another sheepish grin and stepped away. "..maybe I should eat something. I'm a little lightheaded."

Ren nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a great idea. I'll take you back to Oum's with me then." He declared, walking her back to her room.

Nora darted into the room and shut the door behind her, and began talking back to him through the wall.

" _Back_ to Oum's? Is that where you were before you came to get me?" She asked.

"Yes, I was there with Blake and...," His voice faltered out as he remembered how he'd left Blake high and dry at the cafe. He grimaced. "Well, we'll be going back, won't we?"

For a moment, there was no noise coming from Nora's room. Then, as if it hadn't happened at all, she threw the door open and stepped out. Now, dressed in black jeans and boots with a pink sweater, Nora walked back into the living room.

"Sure we will! Come on then, Renny, we don't wanna keep them waiting!" Nora exclaimed, grabbing her coat, which was simple and black, from it's hook and slipping it on. From the pocket, she procured a pair of pink gloves and slipped them onto her hands.

Ren smiled and walked back up to the front with her, pulling his coat back on and stepping out into the hall. Nora followed and shut the door behind them, locking it with her own key. She turned and flashed Ren a big smile before bounding down the hall and then into the elevator, with Ren following behind her, quiet and stoic as always.

She might have acted like she was better, but Ren could see the strain behind Nora's smile. Her eyes were still a bit red, though that had faded a bit, and her chin quivered with she smiled, like she might start crying all over again. Ren said nothing, as he knew better, and decided to play along, for now.

They made it outside and into the snow, and just before they began walking, Ren caught sight of Nora pulling her scroll from her pocket and checking over it as if her life depended on it. Once she saw Ren looking, Nora stuffed it back into her pocket and ran out ahead of him, picking up piles of snow in her hands and throwing them into the air. She didn't stray too far from Ren, and when she did, she glanced back at him skeptically, only continuing to run after he nodded and flashed her a small smile.

Ren wouldn't ask her what was bothering her. If she felt the need to, she would tell him, as she always had. Maybe Jaune or Pyrrha had some ideas on what it was, but Ren would do nothing unless Nora told him herself. It was, after all, just how they were. Best friends.

* * *

 **And that's that! Like I said, this chapter is short too, and I apologize for that. Swamped with work, I'll be back on my A game this week. This little ploy will last a bit, so these next few chapters may be divulging away from the fluff that I've established in this story. If you're patient enough, it'll be back soon!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, feel free to leave me a review! Any and everything helps and I appreciate all of it!**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	10. 10: Rekindled

"We're heereee!" Nora called out as Ren opened the door to Oum's.

Jaune looked up from the counter and smiled. Pyrrha, who had taken Ren's seat beside Blake, and the aforementioned girl looked up as well, smiles spreading across the both of their faces. Pyrrha stood, spared one last glance and a comment that Ren couldn't hear to Blake, and then she waltzed back up and behind the counter. Ren made his way back to his seat and promptly sat, Nora splitting and going over to talk to Jaune and Pyrrha at the counter.

As Ren sat down, Blake quickly took his hand, squeezing lightly as she did. When he looked toward her, her face was full of question and, fortunately, free of malice.

"Is everything alright, Ren?" She asked quietly. Ren, lost in the sea of amber that he found he'd missed so much, hesitated and nodded stiffly. Blake didn't look convinced, so he squeezed her back back in appreciation and opted to talk instead.

"It's good. I've talked to her, and while she doesn't seem back to normal yet," He gestured to Nora with a wave of his hand. "This is a start."

Blake let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and pulled her chair closer to Ren, just enough so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. Barely a second after, she felt the familiar weight of Ren's own head tilting down over hers. She sighed happily and let her eyes drift shut.

She'd felt a little offended when Ren had run off, though she was sure it was for good reason. Despite that, she was still a bit hurt, though she was able to hide it from Pyrrha, who had taken it upon herself to sit with Blake and talk to her about it after Jaune had run off after Ren. Even when he came back alone, Pyrrha remained at their table, and Jaune had even brought Blake the bowl of soup she had ordered so long ago. He didn't talk so much as he did offer her encouraging smiles from time to time. She appreciated it.

Ren likewise was only just now beginning to remember what true warmth felt like. The chill of the wind and the piercing cold of the snow outside had reminded him that life wasn't warm, just natural. Being stuck to Blake for so long had rendered his memories of the world innate sometimes, and other times made his senses bloom. Whatever it was happening to him, he couldn't explain it. And honestly, felt no need to do so.

* * *

Across the cafe, now sitting at one of the taller stools that lined the counter, Nora had her lips stuck around a long straw that ended in the base of a chocolate milkshake. Jaune and Pyrrha stood across from her, behind the counter, and were processing what she'd just told them. Jaune seemed dumbstruck, though he was clearly thinking hard about it, evident by his furrowed brow and the constant rubbing of the scarce hairs on his chin. Pyrrha, however, seemed to understand a bit more. Maybe because she'd been in the situation, though it wasn't fair to say that Jaune hadn't been.

The crimson-haired girl leaned over the counter, emerald eyes wide and searching Nora's face. There was no excitement, barely any happiness, and a tad bit of anger. It was all, however, overshadowed by the soul-crushing depression that was most evident on the girl's face.

Her hair, while she had brushed and comb it, was drooped downward. Her skin was pale, as if the sun hadn't kissed it in days, which it hadn't. Her eyes, usually turquoise and filled with elation, were pale teal, filled instead with sorrow. It took all of her willpower to stop her shoulders from shaking from grief alone. One hand was clasped around the glass that they'd given her, and the other was palm down on the counter.

Pyrrha reached across the counter and laid one hand gingerly over the other girls' hand. Nora didn't react, and Pyrrha squeezed slightly just to make sure the girl knew they were there.

"You're sure?" Pyrrha asked, quiet and skeptical. Nora didn't move, and made no effort to do so in general. She had just told them, hadn't she? "You're absolutely, one-hundred percent sure?"

Jaune placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, and she let up if only a little.

"I'm sure she is, Pyrrha," He told her, his voice calm and understanding. At hearing him, Nora looked up at the two of them. There were no tears, as she was done crying as it was now. "She wouldn't have told us if she wasn't."

Pyrrha pulled back, clearly frustrated. "I-I know that, I just...," She faltered and her gaze swapped between Nora and Jaune rapidly, and then there was a glance at Ren and Blake, way behind Nora, across the cafe. "It's a lot to take in. Feelings are...an enigma, like a puzzle or a maze that takes forever to solve."

Nora pulled the straw out of her mouth and gazed up at Pyrrha, cocking her head to the side in the same bird-like manner that Ren usually did.

"I've thought about this for a year now, Pyrrha," She started, her voice as soft as a gentle breeze, yet laced with a sadness that Pyrrha and Jaune couldn't even fathom. "I'm sure I've solved this puzzle, taken it apart, and solved it again over and over and over now.."

Pyrrha looked on, concerned, and Jaune was stone-faced, the gears in his head turning still. Nora looked between the both of them and, hearing a set of footsteps behind her, put on a wide smile and exclaimed; "Because chocolate is a gift from God himself, Jaune! Vanilla just doesn't match up!"

Jaune, immediately recognizing the act, put up a false bravado and continued off of her starter.

"That's just because you haven't tried to same vanilla that I have. It's enough make you actually _believe_ in a higher power," He replied, his eyes glancing up and catching sight of Ren walking forward to the counter. He put on a smile and turned to face Ren, causing Nora to turn her head to the side as well. "Hey Ren, what's up?"

Ren placed both his hands face down on the counter and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, for leaving so abruptly. I...had my reasons, as you know, but I shouldn't have been so brash about it," He tilted his head in Nora's direction, in the same way that Nora had done to Pyrrha just moments earlier. "I apologize, sincerely."

Jaune waved his hand out dismissively. "Ren, it's cool. Duty called, and you stepped up," He reached across to ruffle Nora's hair up a bit, and she playfully pouted, though did nothing to stop him. "Like a white knight, fighting to save Princess Nora."

Ren cracked a smile, though Jaune could see how forced it was. Nora wasn't fooling him, that much was obvious, but he was playing along. For now, anyway.

Pyrrha had turned her back and was making herself a cup of coffee. She'd never had much of a poker face, and as such had decided to just remove herself from the altercation. Ren nodded in her direction, and then to Jaune and Nora.

"Thanks for understanding. I'd ask for another cup of tea, but I'd hate to bother you." Ren stated calmly, and Jaune waved him off, even going so far as to scoff loudly.

"You're never a bother, Ren. I'll get you one in a bit." Jaune replied, and Ren relocated back to his table after that. Pyrrha turned back around, emerald eyes still concerned, and gazed across both Jaune and Nora's faces.

Nora's had dropped back to it's now-usual sadness, and Jaune was stoic, not as much as Ren, and stone-faced. Pyrrha immediately went back to Nora.

"Have you told him? Or, do you plan to?" She asked, sure not to look too suspicious or make too much noise. Nora nodded, taking a long sip from her straw.

"I plan on it. No time soon because of the...situation, but I plan to do it." She replied, looking up at Pyrrha. For a second, there was a flash of light in those pale orbs; an idea of hope. It was there for just a moment, and was then drowned out in a sea of sadness once more. Jaune stepped forward and laid a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, nodding as if he'd finally come to a decision.

"Well, just tell us what to do," He began, and Nora's gaze swapped over to him, now lost and confused. "And we'll help out in any way we can."

Pyrrha nodded her agreement, and Nora smiled, an actual smile this time, and went back to drinking her milkshake. She began to kick her legs out like a kid, as she was too short for her feet to touch the ground from atop the stool. Jaune turned around and went to make Ren a cup of tea, and Pyrrha sat down on the two stools behind the counter and sipped her coffee.

Oum's fell into complete silence after that, the only sound that any of them could hear being the machines behind the counter running and the soft winds from outside. It all fell back into peace and tranquility, though everyone in the cafe's mind was anything but the two. More justly put, they were all turmoil and complications, to be solved on another day. Not this one, though, this was a day of thinking. And understandably, they all thought. They thought quite a bit.

* * *

An hour or two later, the entire group began splitting up and going their separate ways. Jaune and Pyrrha closed up Oum's and headed off to their apartment. Blake, after a prolonged goodbye to them all, left on her own, back to her own apartment. Ren and Nora decided to go home together.

Despite the snow, Nora was skipping across the ground and through the snow as if it wasn't there. Ren walked stoically behind her, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. He'd noticed earlier that she was indeed faking her 'happiness', but now it felt as if she was actually enjoying herself. Her hair had taken on it's usual shade of vibrant orange, and every time she looked back, Ren noticed a certain light in her eyes. She was becoming herself once again.

They soon passed by The Oniyuri Atheneum, the library where Ren worked, and Ren found himself slowing down, just to gaze at the old building. The brickwork had always been beautiful to him. Primarily dark brown, but accented with shades of black, dark gray, and light red, the library felt like a second home to him.

"Renny?" Nora called out from ahead of him. When Ren didn't look, she cupped her hands around her mouth and tried again. "Reeennnnyyyy!"

He finally snapped his head to attention, turning to face her as she ran back towards him. "Hm? Yes, Nora?"

She slowed to a halt in front of him, her hands in her pockets. "You alright? You were staring at the library for like a minute there," She cocked her head, in the same manner that Ren usually did. "Somethin' on your mind?"

Ren hesitated, though he wasn't sure why, and nodded his head. "Well, yes, kind of. I was thinking, but not really about anything specifically," He turned to look at the library, crossing his arms. "Mainly about how comfortable the library is to me now. It's nothing serious, really. We should get out of the cold soon,"

Nora nodded her agreement, and took off on the way to their apartment once again. Ren stood, looking at the library for a moment, before following after her with his hands in his pockets once again.

It had stopped snowing an hour or so before they'd left Oum's, though the cold wind still chipped away at them.

To Ren, it was more prevalent than usual, on account of him walking aside himself this time.

For Nora, it was all she could feel, though that chill didn't come from the weather. No, it came from her own mind.

The both of them would rather ignore it, however, and continue on with the rest of the day as if it was nonexistent. And as if the other could not sense it.

* * *

Stepping into their apartment, Ren actually took notice of how...disgusting it looked. It seemed as if Nora noticed it as well, as she stopped dead in her tracks and looked around the apartment nervously. She glanced up at Ren, a sheepish smile on her face.

"So...," She said, taking a tentative step forward, only to kick over a stack of books on mistake. "I'm guessing you're going to make me clean this all up, huh?"

Ren looked at her, an eyebrow raised, and sighed. "No, of course not," He said, and Nora began to beam with excitement. Until he said; "We're going to clean it all up. I'd hate to make you do it yourself."

All of her excitement fell to her toes and she stuck her tongue out at Ren. "Phooey." She responded, and Ren smiled.

"Don't be that way. If we work fast and efficiently, it won't take long," He told her. She looked unconvinced, and Ren journeyed a little farther by saying; "And maybe I'll make pancakes when we're done."

Nora immediately jumped up onto her toes again, stars practically shining away in her eyes. "Do you really mean it?" He nodded. "If we work fast and well?" He nodded. She waited, looking up at him expectantly. When he raised an eyebrow, she grabbed him by his sleeves and pulled him down to eye level. Her eyes were wide and filled to the brim with excitement.

"Then what're we WAITING for?!" She exclaimed. Her coat, scarf, and gloves were practically thrown onto the rack with surgical precision, and her boots were kicked off all the same. Before Ren could even take his boots off completely, Nora had begun to pick up all the stray books, papers, and blankets that littered the floor. Ren watched on in amazement for a second, a smile gracing his face as he finally began to remember just _who_ Nora Valkyrie was. As soon as his boots were off, he joined in, giving her instruction on what to do first and where to put specific things. She followed without question, falling into the pattern that they'd laid out after years of living together, showing why and how they were best friends.

The entire session took just over forty-five minutes, with almost no hitches. The smaller ones being Nora found something she didn't know where to put, and Ren had to think for a moment before telling her. The biggest one being when Nora picked up Menta's shirt. The speed she'd built up fell away and she was stuck standing awkwardly in between the couch and the TV.

Ren turned away from the bookshelf, where he was re-arranging his books, and watched her for a moment, a tinge of melancholy dotting his eyes.

"..Nora?" He asked, skeptically. Her head jerked up at his voice, and she quickly found him watching her. Tears were brimming in the corners of her eyes, but she brought an arm up to wipe away the tears.

"..oh...Oh, oh, Sorry Ren," She said, folding up Menta's shirt and laying it on the couch. "I guess I just...got lost for a second."

Ren's eyebrows dropped, clearly concerned. He wanted to say something, but wasn't sure just if she'd answer. Deciding he would at least try, he turned around to face her

"Are you alright, Nora?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern. "If something's wrong, you can surely tell me."

Nora looked up at him and opened her mouth to reply, but she quickly bit her own lip and turned away.

"It's nothing serious, Renny," She said, though her voice was a wavering a bit. "Don't worry about it." Before he could say anything, she walked off, into the hallway leading to their rooms. A second later, he heard her door shut. He was left standing in front of the bookcase, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Ren wasn't too sure what to do, as Nora had never really kept secrets from him. They'd always been extremely open with each other, but now...Ren didn't know what to think.

He quickly finished up the cleaning in the apartment and sat down on the couch. Staring into the black screen of the TV, Ren pulled his scroll from his pocket and tried to call Menta. Like the many times before, he didn't pick up. Ren held the scroll against his ear, listening to the voicemail.

"Hey, it's Menta. I can't come to the phone right now, probably off being amazing like always. You know what to do." Beep. Ren sighed and slipped his scroll back into his pocket. He stood up, stretching his limbs out for a moment before turning away and walking into the kitchen. He decided to actually make those pancakes like he'd said. Cooking helped him focus, as well as took his mind off of things. It was a good bet, and maybe they'd make Nora feel a bit better.

* * *

Nora was laying on her stomach on her bed in her room. A plush pink pillow was underneath her chin, and Menta's shirt was laid atop that. It had long since lost Menta's smell, and now it smelled like her body wash: hot pink cotton candy.

She had her scroll in her hands, holding it in front of her as she rested her hands against the pillow. Her feet were kicking out in the air behind her, as if she was as happy as she usually was. What a front.

As it was, she was scrolling through the gallery on her phone. Most of her pictures were of herself or Ren or Menta. A lot of the recent ones had both herself and Ruby in them, as the two had begun hanging out a lot. Weiss was in a few of them, but she was pretty adamant about not being in pictures. That was fine, though.

She continued to scroll, her finger hovering casually over her pictures of Ren, or the ones with her, Ren, and Menta all together. She smiled at them, but got upset when she remembered what she couldn't say.

Groaning, Nora buried her face into her pillow. Her room was messy, even by her own standards. The door was off to the left, and her bed was centered against the back wall. Across from her bed, up against the front wall, sat her dresser. Some drawers were pulled out, clothes missing from the places they usually sat, folded up neatly. Now, they were scattered across the floor of her room. She had a small desk in the corner of her room, her laptop sitting on it, but she barely ever used it.

The walls were adorned with pictures, the same ones she had on her phone but enlarged. Her favorite one was the one just above her bed. It was the first picture that she and Ren took together when they'd moved into the apartment. The both of them sat on the couch together, the same couch they still had today, and smiled at the camera. Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be. Ren had sat stoically, his hands in his lap and a smile plastered across his face. Nora, however, as the loose cannon she is, refused to sit still. She'd hopped up on her knees and pulled Ren into a tight hug around his neck. Her smile was as large as life itself, and even Ren's had grown a bit because of her. Nora loved looking at the picture.

Her phone vibrated in her hand. Nora looked up slowly, assuming it was another text from Jaune or Pyrrha. After Oum's, they were extremely prevalent, texting her almost nonstop until she'd told them she and Ren would be cleaning up.

When she looked at her phone, though, however. She realized someone was calling her. She tilted her head off to the side, confused. The only people she ever called were Ren and Menta. Ren was in the kitchen, she could hear the familiar sounds of him setting out spices and such for his pancakes, and Menta was off, busy. Still, her hopes skyrocketed at the thought that maybe Menta was finally calling her back.

She jumped up into a sitting position, legs crossed, and pulled up the caller on her phone. It wasn't Menta, which dropped her hopes a bit. But, it was a number that she recognized. Nora quickly answered and put the phone to her ear.

"Ruby? What's up?" She asked, skepticism lining her voice. The brunette tended not to call her on weekends, as that was when she spent time with Weiss.

"Nora! Hey! How are you?" Ruby asked. She was always chipper and reminded Nora of herself. When she wasn't so down, anyway.

"Hm? I'm doing alright. What about you?" Nora responded. She got up from her bed and walked over to her desk, where she promptly sat down.

"I'm great! Bored, though, and that's why I'm calling!" Ruby called back. Nora cocked her head to the side once again. "I thought we could go and see a movie or something!"

Nora perked up a bit. She could tell that Ren was making pancakes, which she desperately craved, but it would be nice to get out of the house-so to speak-for a bit.

"Oh, um. I'd be up for it, but not right now," Nora replied, getting up once more to go through her dresser and pull out a different sweater. "Maybe in like thirty minutes?"

The line was silent for a bit before Ruby responded. "Oh, sure, sure! Call me when you're ready!" Nora nodded her affirmation, and Ruby hung up the line. Pulling on her sweater and sifting through her hair with her hands, Nora left her room, shutting the door behind her. Ren was still in the kitchen, and Nora suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She'd always been able to tell him things, but this...she couldn't tell him this.

Ignoring her guilt for a moment, Nora poked her head into the kitchen with a smile on her face and took a deep smell.

"Are those pancakes I smell?" She exclaimed. Ren looked back at her from his pace at the stove and smiled.

"They are indeed. I told you I'd make some for you when we were done, right?" He responded. He didn't seem to be festering over what had happened, but Nora knew him better than that. Of course she knew him better.

"Well, duh!" She said, grinning. She skipped up next to him, leaning over onto his shoulder. Usually, they'd be left in a nice, comfortable silence. Now, though. It was tense, almost brooding.

Ren flipped another pancake onto the already growing stack, He knew how much Nora could eat sometimes, and stopped as the next one began to cook.

"Say, Nora, would you care if I headed out after this?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the pan he was cooking in. Nora raised an eyebrow and looked up at him through strands of her own hair. When she found she couldn't see him quite well, she angrily blew some of it out of the way.

"Would I care? No, not really. You're free to do what you want," She said, using a hand to smooth out her hair. "That and I had planned to do the same."

Ren looked down at her with a curious tilt of his head.

"Oh? Where do you plan on going?" He asked, picking up the spatula once again to flip over the pancake. Nora shrugged.

"To the movies, maybe. There was this one that I've been meaning to see for a while, I hear it's good," She replied. Ren didn't know that Ruby and Nora knew each other, and it was their plan to keep it that way. "What about you? I know you don't like the cold that much to go and hang out in it."

Ren laughed a little, tilting his head affectionately toward her. Nora reciprocated. "Nowhere special. I figured I'd take a walk and see where life took me." He told her. Nora nodded, over exaggerating as always. It sounded just profound enough for Ren to do it.

"Well, that's fair and all. You'd better not get home later than me, mister." Nora jokingly said, poking him in the side as she did. Ren laughed again, louder this time, and Nora joined in. The tense air grew a bit more bearable.

"I'll make sure I'm not out too long, Nora," Ren told her, the laugh ebbing at the edges of his words. Turning off the stove, he flipped the last pancake onto the stack and turned to face her. He was smiling, and his eyes held no hint of the malice that Nora expected to see. "Now, how about we eat? I can tell you're just dying of hunger."

As if on que, Nora's stomach grumbled and a large, overjoyed, smile spread across her face.

"You know it! Let's get this show on the road!" She exclaimed. Ren, happy to see that she was almost back to being herself, reached up into the shelf above the stove and pulled the jar of syrup down from it's perch. Nora's eyes widened comically at the sight, and the two of them walked into the living room together, sitting down and turning the TV on. Armed with a fork and a jar of syrup, Nora went to town on her plate of pancakes. Ren watched, amused but admiring, and ate his own at a much more controlled pace, as it always had been.

* * *

 **Aha! The second the Summer starts, the Hiatus is over! I know I won't be able to keep up with my schedule of updating every Saturday, but I hope you guys can still enjoy these chapters regardless of when they come out.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	11. 11: Lost and Found

Nora stalked out of the entrance of the movie theater, scroll in hand, and bundled up in different shades of pink and white to fend off the cold. Her scarf was pulled up over her nose, and her hat was pulled down just over her eyebrows. Ruby was further behind her, decked in red and black but simultaneously bundled up just as much as Nora, buying more chocolate just before they left.

She flipped through the pages of her scroll, moving from panel to panel just to get to the messaging app. Because it was a movie theater, they were required to turn their scrolls off during the movie. Nora had gone through a slight fit of withdrawal at the start, but she eventually got over it, what with how good the actual movie was. By the time it'd ended, she'd almost forgotten her angst completely. Almost, anyway.

The second the movie had ended, Ruby whipped out her phone and called up Weiss. Instantly upon seeing it, all of Nora's negative emotions flooded right back into her head. Ruby took notice, asking her if she was alright. Nora, putting on the same false smile she wore for weeks now, ensured her she was fine and said she'd be alright walking home. Ruby was clearly uneasy.

"You don't have to walk through the cold, Nora. I'm sure Weiss wouldn't mind dropping you off at home." Ruby countered as the two stood outside. Nora shook her head.

"No, it's cool. Ren isn't supposed to know we all know each other, remember?" Nora replied, crossing her arms. Her scroll buzzed in her pocket, but through the thick layers she was wearing, she didn't feel it.

Ruby twiddled her fingers, looking down at her feet. The huge white scarf wrapped around her neck hid most of her face, so Nora couldn't see much of her.

"Well, maybe we could drop you off further down the street? So that Ren doesn't see us, but so that you don't have to walk as much." Ruby ventured. Nora raised an eyebrow, but she knew Ruby couldn't see it.

'Don't worry about it, Ruby. I walked here on my own, I'll be fine to walk back," Nora said. To reassure her, she grabbed her scarf and pulled it down, showing her usual large grin. "I'll be fiiine, this cold can't beat me. I'll make sure to call you when I get there just to make sure, alright?"

Ruby smiled back at her and nodded, a bit of mirth finding it's way back to her.

"Okay! I'll be waiting for the call then." Ruby responded. Just then, a white car pulled up to the curb. It was simple, low with snow treads and covered in snow like every other car. The back door opened to reveal Weiss, dressed in black jeans and a white coat, issuing to Ruby very quickly. Ruby mouthed out 'oh' and then jumped over to Nora to hug her before running off. Weiss waved at the orange-haired girl, and Nora waved back. The door shut, and the car drove off.

Nora was left standing in front of the theater for a moment or so, just festering in her thoughts, before she finally decided to walk off. The light from the theater soon faded behind her, and she was left walking in darkness, with nothing but the cold around her to remind her that she was indeed alive. Her scroll buzzed again, but the layers nullified both the feeling and the noise. All she heard was the snow crunching beneath her boots and the wind whipping past her face.

'Wonder what Menta is doing right now,' She thought, stopping at a corner to watch for cars before rushing across the street. Nora came to a halt across the street as a taxi barreled down the street behind her. She watched it as it drove off down the road, cutting a corner and disappearing down another street. She sighed. Menta didn't own a car, so he usually took a taxi in and out of town when he needed to.

Suddenly curious with her own thoughts, Nora began to follow the taxi. What were the chances that Menta would be in that one? They were low, sure, but Nora didn't really have much to lose. Plus, if it did happen to be him, that was a huge plus.

Nora got to the corner where the taxi had turned and she reared the corner quickly. It took her a moment to read the street sign, mainly because it was dark, but also because it was difficult to see with both her hair and her hat in the way of her eyes. Once she did read it, though, she realized that she was now on Menta's street. Her heart began to pound ferociously in her chest, her hopes skyrocketing. Maybe a bit of the color came back to her hair, maybe the light in her eyes got a bit brighter.

Spotting the dark yellow and brown taxi down the street, she quickly crossed to the other side and followed it. If it wasn't Menta, she could pretend to just be some person walking down the other side of the street. If it was, she'd run back over.

Once she got closer, she slowed down, walking as she took notice of the people in the taxi. There was the driver, of course, and only one passenger in the back. Nora couldn't see through the window, but he looked tall. A promising sign. The streetlights on her side of the street were shining onto the sidewalk, so every few feet Nora would walk through the shining beam of light before falling back into darkness.

She was crossing into darkness again as the passenger stepped out of the taxi. He was cloaked in darkness, so Nora couldn't see. All she could make out was a long black coat. Menta liked wearing dark colors; long coats too. Maybe?

He walked back behind the car and popped open the trunk. A small light clicked on and Nora saw that he was wearing a black bowler hat and shades. Under that, strands of long black hair fell down to where his Adam's Apple was easily seen. Nora slowed to a halt, only realizing that she was standing in the light exactly when the man looked up at her. She couldn't see his face, but she didn't need to. It wasn't Menta. Menta didn't have black hair.

Tears flooded the corners of her eyes before she could stop it. The man stepped into the street and said something, but Nora couldn't hear him. Pulling her hat down over her eyes, she turned around and walked away. Her walking turned into a jog, and then slowly into a run. She could hear the snow crunching under her feet, and the cold around her, hovering in the air and whipping past her at every angle, seemed to pull at her from every side.

Rounding the corner at the end of the street, Nora kept running. Looking up as she ran, she found herself in the middle of the park in the center of Oniyuri. As she slowed to a stop, she realized how tired she was. Despite how energetic she usually was, all that energy had left her nearly a full month ago. Her legs ached, her lungs were screaming and burning, and her face was still streaming with tears. Running an arm across her face, which actually did nothing to clean the tears from her face, Nora walked along down the winding path of the park, stopping periodically to look around.

That tree? No, too much snow. The bench, then? No, too open. What about...behind that tree, the big one?

Nora looked up at the tree. It was huge, clearly the biggest tree in the park. It's leaves and branches were so numerous and thick that they completely stopped any snow from falling through them. The ground underneath the tree was completely dry, still lush with green grass. Sniffling, Nora rubbed her arms through her thick sweater and walked toward it. The leaves and branches nearly touched the ground, so Nora had to push her way through them just to see the trunk completely. Once she did, she rounded the trunk, large and full of life, and fell to her knees behind it.

She backed up against the base of the tree, sat down on the roots, and pulled her knees up to her chest. Here, hidden underneath the largest tree behind several layers of wood and leaves where she was sure no one could see her, Nora let the tears flow freely.

* * *

Whereas Nora had decided to go to the movies, Ren decided to take a walk. Nora was completely right when she said he wasn't fond of the cold. The snow itself was nothing to worry about, but the cold was annoying in every sense of the word. The way it whipped at him, back and forth, and the way it crawled underneath his clothes and found it's way to his core; it was hell, in the simplest way to put it.

He didn't have a destination, he usually didn't when he took his walks. He was simply allowing fate to carry him to where it wanted him.

Ren had thrown on one of his usual black coats, knee-length and with a high collar. He'd neglected to wear a hat, as always because it tangled his hair, but had put on earmuffs. Cold ears were the worse, second only to cold hands.

Under his breath, Ren laughed. He remembered something Menta had told him a few months ago, before he'd left, about cold hands. After laughing, he felt bad. Menta had left like this before, they were all used to it. But Nora...it was bad, is all, and Ren felt bad that he couldn't do much to aid her.

With the snow crunching under his boots, Ren walked on, his hands tucked deep into his pockets. He watched the slow traffic of Oniyuri as he walked down the street, his gaze jumping from the cars going past him to the dead trees that were lined down the road, their branches covered in crisp white snow.

Before long, Ren found himself standing just at the edge of the Oniyuri Atheneum. He gazed up at the building, though it wasn't really that tall, just barely over a story, and felt a comforting sense of relaxation fall over him. He patted down his pockets and sure enough, he had his key with him. Ren smiled and rounded the building, finding the entrance, and he let himself in.

The entire library was dark, as it should be since it was closed. The streetlamp outside, just in front of the entrance, shined just a bit of light into the main entrance where Ren stood. He could see the main desk just to his right, and in front of him, he saw the numerous bookshelves looming ahead. He sighed, taking in the smell of all the books on each and every shelf.

A bit of snow fell in behind him, piling onto the library's floor. Ren cursed and hurried to shut the door before any more could topple in. Only after, when the door slammed shut, did Ren realize that he should have turned the light on beforehand. Now, with the door closed, darkness fell onto Ren, and he found that he couldn't see.

Once again, Ren swore under his breath. Thankfully, after working there for a year, he'd just about memorized the inside of the library.

Putting his hands up against the right wall, Ren slowly moved off to the side and quickly found the switch. He flicked it, and then turned around, shaking the excess snow off of his boots onto the welcome mat. The lights slowly warmed up and after a moment, clicked on, blinding Ren for a moment. Shaking his head, he looked up and smiled.

On a regular day, it'd be six in the morning. Ren would've just opened up the library, and ten minutes later, Menta would walk in, a smile on his face. They'd talk for a few minutes, and then Menta would go to the back desk, and Ren would round the front desk and take up post.

Ren sighed again, sadness not dotting his features, if only a tad.

His scroll buzzed in his pocket, and Ren, always observing, felt it on it's last buzz. He dug it out of his pocket and held it up, looking it over. He'd gotten a text, but he didn't recognize the number. With an eyebrow raised in question and caution, he opened the text. It was short and simple, and all it said was:

 _ **"Thanks for watering the plants. The roses are looking better than ever, -M."**_

Ren's eyes widened in surprise. Immediately, he rushed to the library door, though he didn't know why. Was he planning to up and run to Menta's apartment? It was late, almost 12 when he looked, that'd be ridiculous. He took a moment to compose himself and instead gathered himself up and began to leave the library. He shut the light off and slipped out of the door, making sure to lock it behind him.

As he began walking back home, a smile found it's way to his face. Surely, this meant Menta was back. There was a low chance of it just being someone messing with him, but Ren was much too optimistic to think that far ahead, or that deep into it. Instead, he picked up the pace. Surely Nora would be home by now, he wanted to tell her the good news. No doubt, she'd be ecstatic.

* * *

Nora wasn't home. Ren had assumed she'd get there before him, but as he stepped into the apartment, it was clear that she wasn't there. The movie was just under two hours long and, Ren checking the time, it had been over for thirty minutes already. He got worried, but he was sure it was nothing. Maybe she'd decided to hang out for a bit?

He had waited another fifteen minutes before he couldn't take it anymore. Using his scroll, he called her, but she didn't answer. He called again. Nothing. Making a split decision, he called Blake. It took a bit for her to answer, but she came to.

"Ren...? I don't...it's, it's almost twelve in the morning..," She said, a yawn interrupting her. "Is something wrong..?"

Ren took a moment to compose himself so that he didn't overreact any more than he already was.

"It's Nora. She left the apartment a couple hours ago and she hasn't come back," He told her. Through the phone, he could hear her getting up from bed. He continued. "I called a few times and she hasn't answered. I...honestly, I'm worried."

Blake didn't speak for a minute or so. Just as Ren was about to ask if she was still there, she came back.

"Give me a few minutes. I'll see if I can't get over to your apartment," She said. Ren sighed in relief. "Have you called anyone else yet?"

Ren shook his head, though he wasn't sure why. "No, not yet. I'd planned on calling Pyrrha and Jaune as well."

Unbeknownst to Ren, Blake had just nodded as well. Currently, she was throwing on her clothes, gloves, boots and scarf and was getting ready to head out.

"Good. Call them after we hang up. If we all meet at your apartment, we can split up and look for her." Blake was getting to the door, beginning to open it, when she heard a cough behind her. She turned around to see Weiss and Ruby, sitting together on the couch. Ruby was half-asleep, and Weiss was wide awake, a mug of coffee in her hand.

"I'll see you soon, bye Ren." She quickly said before hanging up. Weiss raised an eyebrow at her.

"Blake? It's eleven in the morning, where are you going?" She asked. Blake pulled her coat from the rack next to the door and began pulling it on.

"To Ren's apartment," She replied, deathly monotone. Weiss raised her eyebrow again, but in a more suggestive tone, if that was possible. A tinge of red ran to Blake's face before she waved her hand dismissively. "It's not like that, his roommate's gone missing. He doesn't know where she is."

Weiss rose up, making Ruby stir. She managed to cautiously put her mug down before looking back up at Blake.

"Nora's missing?" She asked in a quiet voice. Ruby awoke, though still drowsy, and looked at both of them, a confused expressing dotting her face.

"Whats...what's this about..Nora?" She asked, yawning as she spoke. "I was just at the movies with her a few hours ago, she..she seemed fine..,"

Blake raised an eyebrow at both of them, but she didn't question how they knew Nora, or why she and Ruby had been hanging out. Maybe there was a secret society underneath her and Ren's nose. Despite that, she shook her head and nodded.

"Ren said she left a couple hours ago and hasn't come back. He sounds worried." Blake told them both. Weiss got up, slinging away the cover that was covering both her and Ruby, and held a hand to her chest.

"Of course he is! What are you all planning to do?" She asked. Blake opened her mouth to respond, but shut it just as fast. She realized they didn't necessarily have a plan yet. She went for the truth factor.

"We don't know yet. We're meeting at his place with two of his other friends to talk." Blake responded. Weiss nodded and shook Ruby awake.

"Then we're coming too. The more people, the easier it'll be, right?" Weiss said. Blake began to argue, but Ruby jumped up as well, though she was still very much drowsy.

"That's right. She..she's my friend too, so of course we're helping." Ruby stated, her eyes half-lidded. A smile found it's way to Blake's face and she nodded.

"Okay, good. Get ready and we can all drive over in Weiss' car. The snow is annoying outside." Blake told them both.

Weiss smiled and nodded, and she began to pull Ruby away so that the both of them had the time to at least put on a clean change of clothes. Once they were all done, they took Weiss's car, Blake driving because Weiss couldn't handle the snow, and they were off to Ren's place.

* * *

"Where was she last?" Pyrrha asked, yawning afterward. It was known that both she and Jaune were both very heavy sleepers, but the fact that they'd gotten up and gotten to Ren's apartment so fast was a homage to friendship. The both of them were standing with their backs to the front door, facing the room.

Ruby perked up, raising her hand like an excited kid in school.

"Oh! oh! I know!" She called out, smiling as always. "We went to see _Return of the Zom-Shredder 2_ at 9:30. Afterwards, it was like 11:40 something when Weiss picked me up and Nora said she was walking home."

Ren nodded and Ruby smiled again, kicking her legs back and forth. She was sitting on the kitchen counter, overlooking the living room, with both Ren and Weiss's permission. Her feet couldn't reach the floor, and she looked like a kid. Weiss was standing next to her with her arms crossed. She turned to face Ruby and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you said you weren't going to see the violent one?" She asked, leaning forward. "Did you lie to me, Ruby?" Ruby's face turned as red as her sweater, and she began to nervously stutter over her next few words. Thankfully, Ren shushed them and kept going.

"How come you didn't give her a ride?" Ren asked them, pulling the girls out of their stupor. Ruby jumped off of the counter and crossed her arms.

"I wanted to! She wouldn't let me ask Weiss," She complained, pouting and leaning back against the counter. "She kept telling me the cold couldn't beat her and that'd she'd be fine. Then she said she'd call me when she got home, but she never did!"

Jaune shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously.

"Where do you think she'd go?" He asked, calculating eyes washing over the whole group. "It's almost one in the morning now, I don't think there are many places for her to go."

Pyrrha shook her head and Ren looked down at the floor. Ruby and Weiss glanced at each other and frowned. Only Blake, sitting on the couch by herself, looked as if she was still thinking, rubbing her chin with her eyes focused on the wall. After a minute or so of silence, she looked up at Ren.

"Would she go to Menta's place?" She asked, an eyebrow raised. Ren looked up at her and returned the questioning glance. "You said she's been out of it since he left, right? What if she went to his apartment?"

Ren though for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. "She hasn't wanted to go there since he left. That and, if she were there, I'm sure we'd know." When everyone looked at him questioningly, he looked back up and smiled. "I got a text from an unknown number just before I got back to the apartment, talking about the roses in Menta's apartment. It was signed with an M, and I think it's Menta."

Jaune did a double take. "For real? Is he back, then?" he asked. Ren shrugged.

"I'm not sure yet, but I believe it is. It's why I came back so fast," Ren replied. He stood up from where he was leaning against the side of the bookshelf. "I wanted to head over tomorrow to check and see."

Pyrrha politely held a hand up, interrupting conversation. "How come it was from an unknown number? All of us have Menta's number saved in our scrolls, save for Blake maybe," The girl in question nodded her agreement and Pyrrha continued. "If it was him, he would've texted from his own number, right?"

Weiss shrugged. "Maybe something happened to his scroll. Chances are he'd rather buy a new one if the last was broken or lost," She said, tilting her head to the side. Her ponytail managed to smack Ruby's arm before she leaned away in the other direction. "It makes sense, somewhat."

Blake crossed one leg over the other. "Maybe we should just split into groups and go look for her. It's the safest bet, what with Oniyuri being so small."

Everyone nodded and began to get up and ready.

"That sounds good," Ren said, smoothing his hair over with one hand. "So we set off, then. Weiss and Ruby can go back to the movie theater to check around that area since they have a car. Jaune and Pyrrha can do the same, but around Oum's and that area since it's close. Blake and I can go to Menta's place and check around there as well."

Each group paired up and pulled their coats back on, ready to get back outside. Ren, pulling his gloves on, stopped them at the door.

"If anyone finds her or sees her at all, text or call the rest of us and we'll be there."

Weiss and Ruby were the first to go, sharing good luck with the others before they ran outside and drove off in Weiss's car. Jaune and Pyrrha went next, sprinting off toward Oum's using their scroll's as flashlights in the dark. After locking up the apartment, Ren and Blake were off as well. They went off in the same direction as Jaune and Pyrrha, but split off as they came to the library, heading down toward the main street where they'd find Menta's apartment.

Throughout their journey there, both were silent. Ren was worried but focused, and he refused to let his focus sway or find itself elsewhere. Blake was the same, though she was much more cautious about how early it was.

They hit the corner of Menta's street and slowed their pace, walking briskly instead of the jog they'd been utilizing on the way there. Blake checked her scroll. it was just under one twenty. They weren't on a schedule, but they definitely wanted to find her as fast as possible.

In the dark, it was hard to tell which building was which. As they walked down the street, Blake had to squint to even see the outlines of the buildings properly. Finally, she caved and turned to Ren.

"Which apartment is his? I can't see at all," She complained, looking up at the sky. Ren looked around, running a hand through his hair. His eyes were no better, but thankfully he'd walked this street so many times it felt like his own.

"That one there," He pointed toward a shorter building that looked to be made of brick. "The third one after this yellow house here. I've been here so many times, it's practically scarred into my memory."

Blake smiled, but the smile quickly fell away. They got to the stairs of the building and then they stopped, Blake grabbing Ren's arm. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I have an idea. You can go up to his apartment, and I'll look around further in the neighborhood," She told him. He opened his mouth to respond, but Blake shushed him. "Divide and conquer. It's a good strategy, Ren."

Ren looked like he wanted to argue, but he bit his tongue. Instead, he leaned down and pecked her on the lips once before turning and going up the stairs. Upon reaching the door, he turned around a nodded, a flash of pink crossing his face.

"Good luck then, Blake." He said, and she nodded her agreement. Her own face had taken on a red-ish tone, but she could argue it was from the cold. Ren disappeared into Menta's apartment building, and Blake ran down the stairs and down the other end of the street.

* * *

Admittedly, she didn't know where she was going. She wasn't familiar with much of Oniyuri, but especially not this side. She'd never been so far into the main part, so she was pretty much lost.

Once she broke out into the main streets again, she merely looked around the open square of the town. It was just about one thirty in the morning, so of course she didn't see anyone. Looking around, her amber gaze casting itself over the entire square with as much analytical precision as she could muster. Unfortunately, it wasn't that much. She caught the glimpses of trees in the center park, mostly small ones but one huge one closer to the middle, and the taller buildings behind it.

Blake didn't think Nora would be in the park; too much snow. But, unfortunately, she didn't really have any other ideas of where to look. She sprinted across the intersection, just barely dodging a taxi as it barreled past it front of her, and slowed to a leisurely walk when she stepped through the gateway onto the paved path of the Oniyuri Public Garden.

The cold wind whipped through her, making Blake shiver and wish that she'd bought a better coat. She'd neglected to grab her scarf, in the rush that she was in, and now she regretted it. At least she had her hat on. That way, her ears would stay warm.

She'd made it through a decent section of the park before she got fed up and began to softly call out Nora's name. Every time she saw a tree that she couldn't see behind or a hedge that seemed big enough to hide the smaller girl, she'd call out again. There was never an answer, though it didn't stop Blake from continuing.

Eventually, she got to the giant tree in the middle. Since the branches and leaves of it hung completely to the ground, Blake couldn't see through to the trunk at all. She inched closer until she could touch the branches and she called out Nora's name once more.

"Nora!" She called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. It was quiet for a moment before she heard something; a whimper, a sniffle, and then a hoarse, strained voice from inside the shell of the tree.

"G-go away," Nora said, balled up behind the tree, hugging her knees to her chest. "I j-just wanna be alone right now,"

Blake sighed and edged her way around the tree so that she could see Nora. Whenever she caught a glimpse of her, though, the orange-haired girl shuffled away until Blake couldn't see her once again. After a while, she gave up and merely crouched outside of the tree's protective shield of branches and leaves.

"Why are you all the way out here?" Blake asked, tilting her head. "You had Ren and the rest of us worried sick."

She heard Nora's breathing hitch up before she responded.

"T-tell him I'm sorry," She said. Her voice was rough, as if she hadn't used it in a while. "A-and go back home while you're at it. I'll come back...e-eventually."

Blake frowned, pulling her coat closer to her as the wind blew past once more. She wasn't the bests of friends with Nora. Honestly, they'd barely spoken to each other the few months they'd know one another. Suddenly, Blake felt bad about not getting to know her better.

"'Eventually' isn't good enough, Nora," Blake replied, folding her arms across her chest. "You can talk to me, you know? What's been going on with you lately?"

Nora made a strange sound, somewhere between a snort and a nervous laugh.

"What _hasn't_ been going on?" She asked, though it was clearly a statement more than a question. "N-nothing good has happened in the past month. I-I lost my job at the pet store because I had to take too many s-sick days due to the cold. Ren was always off with you, so I n-never even had the help around the apartment."

Blake wanted to interrupt, but Nora kept going. "J-Jaune and Pyrrha are always so busy, so they never have the time to hang out with me anymore, and Weiss and R-Ruby were just the same! The only one I could count on was Menta, and h-he's been..g-gone this entire month!" Nora sounded ready to start crying, and Bake definitely didn't want that. She didn't want her to _suffer_ so much anymore.

Steeling herself, Blake pushed through the branches and the leaves. She saw Nora, just a glimpse of her, with her knees pulled to her chest and her face buried into her own legs. Tears were streaming down her face, but she didn't make a noise.

"I-I just..," she tried to say, but broke into a cough. Blake moved a fraction of an inch closer, but didn't dare keep going. Finally, Nora stopped and looked up at her, her usually bright teal eyes gone dark and pale. "I-I just want my _friends_ back, Blake. Th-the past month, I've had no-one, a-and it hurts. I-it's painful, y'know?" She sniffled and looked away, hiding her face from Blake.

The amber-eyed girl was shocked, to say the least. She walked closer and knelt beside Nora, who didn't even make an effort to look at her.

"Nora I've...I had no idea you'd been going through so much," She started, and immediately chastised herself for it. Nora turned to glare at her and looked away again. "O-of course I haven't, I've barely talked to you, and I feel bad about it. I-I guess I was just...," She couldn't find the words.

"Distracted?' Nora ventured, still refusing to look at her. Blake frowned and hung her head. She wasn't good at this type of thing.

"Y-yes, er, no, not distracted...," Blake muttered before groaning. "What I'm trying to say is, none of us knew, Nora. I-I'm sorry for neglecting you, I know I should have at least tried to be a friend to you, but since Menta left, I've barely seen you."

Nora looked back at her, her brow furrowed, and Blake continued. "I-I've no doubt that you have your reasons, b-but if you were out and about a bit more, maybe we would've realized it."

The Valkyrie scoffed and Blake held her hands up in defense. "I-I know it sounds like I'm blaming you, but I'm not, promise. I-I just don't see enough of you. Ren has been worried sick about you, even before tonight. He's told all of us, but he keeps assuring us that if you needed to tell him something, you'd tell him. He seems adamant that you guys never keep secrets."

Nora threw her hands up in the air, slamming her back against the tree trunk.

"We don't! Not usually, anyway. I can trust Ren with any and everything, I trust him with my life!" She exclaimed. Her sudden burst of energy depleted, she dropped back down with her chin against her knees. "B-But I didn't want him thinking down on me just because I got sick a lot. I-I know he has a life outside of me, a-and I'd hate to force him away from it. I just thought that...m-maybe if I handled it all on my own, he'd be impressed."

Blake fell and sat on her knees, venturing so far as to put a hand on Nora's shoulder. The girl did nothing about it and simply let her head fall back into her knees.

"Ren would never look down on you, Nora. You're his best friend, you don't need to impress him," She told her, leaning down so that she could try and see Nora's face. it proved not to work, and she simply sat back up. "He wouldn't think you're a bother or anything, and I'm sure he'd love to help you through any and everything you need help with. That's what best friends do."

Nora sniffled but kept her head down. Blake sighed, letting her hands fall into her own lap. "And who says Ren is the only one who has to help you? We could all come over and have a little get-together, just to make sure you're alright. Maybe bring some food and movies, and sit down together and just relax for as long as you need us." A smile graced her face at the thought. It seemed like fun.

"If you ever need anything, you can tell literally any of us." Blake said, putting her hand on Nora's shoulder again. Though this time, she was much more comfortable about...comforting her. When Nora looked up at her, tear marks running down her face and with red eyes, Blake smiled. Nora almost smiled back, but then she dropped her head into her legs again.

"Th-thanks, Blake...I-I appreciate what you're doing and all, but I don't want to take all of you away from your social lives just to come and hang out with me," She said, sniffling and looking up, outward through the branches of the tree they sat under. "I-I just want Menta back. H-he's never too busy for me, and h-he always makes me feel better."

"There's n-never anything that keeps him from coming to my a-aid when I need him and...," She hesitated, a tinge of red rushing to her face. "I-I want that back. I thought I could handle the few months he'd probably be gone, b-but he never answered his scroll. I-I started to get really worried, hoping that he'd call back eventually, but he never did."

Nora's eyes began to tear up again, and Blake scooted closer to pull her into a lopsided hug. It was awkward, sure, but at least it stopped Nora from crying for the time being.

"Hey, I'm certain he would have if he could've. Maybe something happened to his scroll." Blake ventured. Nora glanced at her and shrugged.

"I've considered a lot of things," Nora said, sweet and simple. She sighed depressingly, though. "I-I don't like thinking about it, honestly."

The both of them sat in silence for a bit before Nora sniffled and wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Th-thanks, Blake. I...appreciate you talking to me." She eventually said. Brushing her hair back with one hand, she smiled. It wasn't full and huge like regular, but it was bright and genuine. Blake returned the smile, wholeheartedly, and stood up. Just then, she remembered the plan, and pulled her scroll from her pocket to send a group-wide text to the others.

 _ **"I've got her. You guys can all stop looking now,"**_

"Of course, Nora," Blake replied, extending a hand downward to help the girl up. She took it, and Blake pulled her to her feet. Nora wobbled a bit, her legs weak from sitting so long, and leaned up against the tree for support. "If you ever need to talk again, about anything really, I'm always open."

Nora waved her off. "Thanks, but..I don't want to take time away from you and Ren," She muttered, dusting off her pants as she stretched and kicked her legs out a bit, just to get the blood pumping. "I'll make sure at least someone knows, though."

Blake nodded. It was a start, but she was sure it wouldn't be enough in the long run. Her scroll buzzed in her hand, and she pulled it up to check it. It was a message from Ren, to the group chat.

 **" _R: Bring her to Menta's apartment, it's the closest to where you are."_**

She nodded and stepped up to pull the branches away so she could peak outside. Checking the time, it was just over two in the morning, though it was still nice and dark outside. Nora stepped up next to her, a look of sheer embarrassment on her face.

"I-I've been out for a while, haven't I?" She asked, looking up at Blake with the trace of a nervous smile on her lips. Blake giggled and stepped back out into the snow with Nora following, her arms folded across her chest.

"It's been a few hours," Blake deadpanned, kicking snow out of their way as she led Nora back to the path. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, so it was a bit easier to see now. "Come on, we'll head to Menta's place. Ren is there waiting."

Nora got to the path and slowed to a halt. When Blake looked back, her head was hung and she was looking at the ground.

"C-can we not go to Menta's?" She asked, looking up slightly as she took a few steps forward. "I-I didn't wanna go with Ren over there because I knew it'd make me feel bad. I-I don't know if I can take it,"

Blake raised an eyebrow, curiously, but extended her hand. Something about Nora, as she was now, reminded her of someone...

"It's okay, Nora. It's the closest place to us right now, and we need to get you out of the cold." Blake reminded her. Nora looked down again, her face flushed red. She was muttering to herself, too quiet for Blake to hear, but after a moment she perked up and nodded.

"Okay, okay," She took a deep breath and started walking again, passing Blake. "I'm good, let's go."

Blake tilted her had in question, but she started walking without saying anything. Nora's head bobbed up and down as she walked, taking large steps to get through the snow, despite the fact that there wasn't as much as before. Blake kept her hands in her pockets, as she'd forgotten to wear gloves too, and followed Nora. She seemed to know where she was going, so there was no argument there.

They walked in silence for a minute before Blake spoke up.

"How long have you and Ren known each other?" She asked, amber eyes landing softly on the back of Nora's head. The girl in question sighed, tilting her head.

"I met Ren in middle school, I think," She said, tapping her chin. "We were both in the same grade and we got put together on a school project. Ren didn't really have that many friends, because he was so quiet and kept away, and I didn't have many because I was loud and obnoxious."

"We did fail that project, because Renny wouldn't talk to me and so I refused to help him, but after that we kinda gravitated to each other," Nora kicked snow from the edge of the sidewalk as she walked, and talked. "So he always sat near me during class or during lunch, but it took a while for him to actually talk to me. Until he said something back, I just sorta talked his ear off." She chuckled beneath her breath.

Blake smiled, giggling alongside her. "Middle school? That was so long ago...," Her voice faltered as she thought about it. "No wonder you guys have such a strong bond," A bit more walking, then Blake tilted her head. "What about Menta?"

Nora slowed, her head bobbing a bit more as she looked from side to side, seemingly trying to remember the way to Menta's. When she spoke, she stuttered.

"O-oh, I've only known M-Menta for about a year and a half now," She said, her voice low. "R-Ren introduced us when I saw him at the library for the first time. H-He was a lot more active about...t-talking to me and all, and we started hanging out a lot." Nora brought a hand up, running it through the hair hanging over her shoulders. Blake raised an eyebrow. Just at the mention of Menta, Nora got nervous. She _swore_ there was someone she knew that was _just_ like that...

"Oh my gods," Blake exclaimed, suddenly stopping. Nora stopped and turned around to face her, eyebrows raised in question. The girl's face was still flushed, slightly red at the cheeks and her mouth was quirked weirdly. "You have a crush on Menta."

Blake expected her to flush and deny it, sorta how like what she did when Weiss said the same to her. Instead, Nora sighed and turned around to keep walking forward. Taken aback, Blake rushed to catch up and follow her.

"Is...is it that obvious?" She asked, her voice quiet and low. Blake frowned, but Nora couldn't see it. "I p-personally think I did a pretty good job not showing it for a while. U-until he left, I mean." She slowed down, folding her arms across her chest.

The other girl furrowed her brows, concern filling her expression. "I wouldn't say it was obvious at all. It took me a bit to even think about it," Blake admitted. Then, quieter, she asked; "Does Ren know?"

Nora tensed up and whipped her head around. "Of _course_ not! I-I can trust Ren with pretty much everything, but I can barely trust myself with this! Why on Earth would I tell him?"

Blake shrugged. "To have someone to confide in?" She ventured. "Does anyone even know?"

The other girl turned around and kept walking. "Pyrrha and Jaune do. I told them, a-after Ren went to 'rescue' me, as Jaune put it," She sighed. "Th-they gave me good advice, b-but it just...wasn't up my alley."

There was a moment of silence between them, where all they could hear was the sound of the snow crunching beneath their feet.

"Are you going to tell him?" Blake asked, out of the blue.

"Wh-what?" Nora asked, choking on seemingly nothing. She cleared her throat. "N-no...I mean, I-I've thought about it, b-but...I wasn't planning on it, n-not anytime soon anyway, 'cause he's still gone, y'know."

Blake began to respond, but shut her mouth. She wasn't sure if Menta was back at all, as she hadn't spoken with Ren about it at all. "Well, what if he likes you back?"

Nora sputtered, a laugh poking at her lips. "Pff, what? No, no of course he doesn't..," She looked away, and then quickly looked back. "Shut up."

Blake smiled, a small laugh slipping through her teeth, as they finally got to the stairs of Menta's apartment. Nora didn't seem to notice, so Blake reached forward to grab her scarf and stop her from walking on ahead. Looking up at the building, all the energy that Nora had seemingly built up seemed to dissipate and leave her immediately.

"Y-y'know, maybe we should just keep walking to my apartment," She offered, taking a step back. "M-maybe even the library. I-It's close."

The dark-haired girl shook her head. "This is the closest place we can go, and we need to get you out of the cold, Nora." Then walked into the building, the lobby, and eventually the elevator, dragging Nora along with her. The Valkyrie dragged her feet, but she didn't necessarily object at all. Once they were in the elevator, she seemed to get antsy again. She was muttering under her breath, talking to herself, and since they were so close now, Blake could actually hear her this time.

"Ooookay, okay. This'll be fine. No matter how sad it makes you, this'll be fine. It'll alll be fine." Nora didn't seem to believe herself that much.

A low ding sounded off inside the elevator, and the doors slowly slid open. Blake stepped out first, turning around to make sure Nora was following. The orange-haired girl took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway, nodding at Blake.

The walk to Menta's apartment wasn't very long, though for the entire walk, Nora was muttering and hyping herself up. Once they actually got to his door, she was sweating a bit.

"I-It's not too late to go to the library?" Nora ventured. Smiling, Blake shook her head and knocked on the door. Hanging her head, Nora sighed and undid her scarf. She took a step in the opposite direction, but Blake reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. Seeing no way out, Nora simply sighed once again and put her arm up on the taller girl's shoulder.

They heard the lock on the inside of the door _click_ aloud, and Blake physically felt Nora begin to tremble.

"Hey, it'll be alright. Ren is the only one here." She said, though she wasn't so sure of it. There was no way of her knowing or not whether Ren confirmed if Menta had come back. She decided not to tell Nora that, though. There was no reason to get the girl's hopes up.

The door began to open slowly, and Nora gripped onto Blake's arm so hard that it forced the taller girl to bend down a bit.

"Ouch," Blake deadpanned, turning to look at Nora. " Why are you so strong?"

Nora turned to her and mouthed out the words, 'I'm sorry'. She opened her mouth to actually talk, but then the door hit the wall in Menta's apartment and they both looked up.

"Hey now, I was wondering when you'd get here," A man said.

He was tall, maybe a bit taller than Ren. He had long black hair that hung down to his Adam's apple in straight strands, though there were streaks of some other lighter color in his hair, a color that Blake couldn't decipher. His skin was pale, making the small scar he had on his chin, just to the right of his mouth, that much easier to see. He wore dark shades, even inside, so they couldn't see his eyes. Despite that, they could clearly see the heavy bags under his eyes.

Over his chest was a dark green sweater, though it gradually got lighter as it got further up, so that his collar was a light mint green. Slung over one arm, he held a long black coat that was close to touching the floor. Around his neck was a simple silver necklace, with the Egyptian _Ankh_ charm hanging from the chain.

Paired with a simple pair of blue jeans, splattered with various colors of paint, and a pair of high black boots, the guy nodded at them.

"Miss Belladonna," He did a half-bow in front of her, which Blake slowly reciprocated with a semi-formal curtsy. "And the lovely Lady Valkyrie." He did a much more over-exaggerated bow in front of Nora. As he was leaning back up, his shades fell down his nose, revealing a pair of pale mint green eyes.

Blake gasped as her brain finally put two-and-two together.

"Wait, so you're-" She was interrupted by Nora, whose voice was quiet, low, and shaky.

"Menta?" She asked, uncertain even with herself and with tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Menta smiled and pulled his shades off, sticking them in the front pocket of his jeans. He cracked a smile, the same grin that Blake had chastised him for when they'd first officially met. One of his eyebrows had a slash through it, and there was a small band-aid on his forehead,

"At your service, Lady Valkyrie," He slung his coat over his shoulder and shoved both hands into his pockets. "I've missed you."

* * *

 **Wow, this came out so much longer than I thought it would. A lot of things happen in this chapter, and the ending is a bit rushed because I was forced to write it twice, and it made me really goddamn upset.**

 **If it's going a bit too fast, or you get confused at some parts, I apologize. Splitting this into two parts didn't feel right to me, so I just decided to let it chill out with it's dick out as an 8k+ chapter.**

 **Also, I wanted to keep Menta out a bit longer, but with the way I'd been pushing things, I wouldn't have been able to keep him away for much longer after the last chapter. Don't worry, though! Since the snow is still around, I've got some fluff plans for future chapters.**

 **Regardless of all that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know these updates are sporadic, but it's only because I have to balance work on top of writing. I'm extremely excited for the next few chapters, so hopefully they come out a bit faster.**

 **As always. Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	12. 12: Tears of Joy

By the time Blake and Nora even got into the living room, where Ren was calmly waiting, the Valkyrie had cried a liter of tears into Menta's shirt, nearly bruised him as she pounded her fists against his chest(albeit very lightly), and had nearly lost all feeling in her legs from grief(or maybe relief) alone. Blake let them have their moment and sat with Ren, conversing quietly as Nora and Menta had their reunion in the doorway.

"When did he get back?" Blake asked Ren, lacing their fingers together as she fell onto the couch beside him. Ren had a mug of tea in his other hand, from which he sipped slowly before answering.

"Sometime tonight. Menta doesn't have a car, so he takes a taxi in and out of town," He explained, setting his mug down on the coffee table. "He took a taxi in tonight and saw Nora running down the street just as he got out. Apparently she'd just been walking around town after the movie."

Blake slowly shook her head. She'd removed her coat, and boots per Menta's request, at the door, and now she snuggled up to Ren for warmth that she didn't really need, but that she wanted.

"If Nora was there, then she surely would've seen him?" She questioned out loud. Ren nodded along, as if he'd asked the same question to himself.

"Menta thinks she did see him, but there was no way to recognize him from afar," Ren explained. "His hair is black, he's a lot more pale, and he's been wearing shades since I got here. Things have changed, and he hasn't explained it all to me yet. He wanted Nora to be here first."

Looking back toward the doorway, it seemed that Nora had calmed down a certain extent. She'd taken her boots off, like Blake had, and Menta was helping her take her coat off. Her eyes were still red, but she'd stopped crying and her hair was a mess, which Menta was desperately trying to smooth down. Despite what she looked like, though, there was a big smile on her face.

For Blake, she could see a bit of light in her eyes. That light grew dangerously bright every time she looked up at Menta, only to see him smiling back down at her. She wasn't looking at the new scar next to his mouth, or the heavy bags under his eyes. No, she only saw him. And that was enough for her.

Ren was caught looking up at them as well, and Blake turned back to ask him something; Something along the lines of, ' _Did you know she has a crush on him?_ ' But he shushed her before she'd even spoken a word.

"I know," He said, without taking his eyes off of them. He grabbed his mug again and offered it to Blake, who gratefully accepted. "Believe me, I know."

She wanted to question him, but he had a faraway look in his eyes. A moment later, he looked away, leaning back into the couch with a sigh.

"I'm just glad to see that she's happy again." He commented, mostly to himself. Blake nodded in agreement, taking sip from the tea. A _very_ pleased sigh escaped her, and she leaned back into the couch alongside Ren. After the night, she'd be fine with just relaxing for the next few days.

* * *

"Ah, dammit." Menta muttered under his breath. He had long since shut the door, and both he and Nora were now standing in the kitchen, both with their backs to the counters and facing each other. He'd made both of them a cup of natural yellow chamomile tea, to calm their nerves. When he drank it, it seeped down his lip and past the scar next to his mouth, burning for a moment.

Setting the cup down, he brought an arm up to wipe at it, gingerly. Nora watched him cautiously over the rim of her mug, drinking it slowly. Menta could tell she was itching to say something, but she was stopping herself. He was in the same position.

His own appearance was bad, but he'd never seen Nora like she was now. Her hair was ratty and unkempt, she had bags to rival his own under her eyes, and her skin was pale like his own.

There was no guessing what she'd gone through while Menta was gone. He felt horrible, not at his own expense, but at hers. This winter was particularly worse than before, which meant some lines had to be crossed..

"What happened to you?" She asked quietly, knocking Menta out of his revelry. She was watching him, though her eyes were filled with concern now rather than caution. A slight chuckle left him as he slouched onto the counter behind him.

"I could ask you the same thing," He responded. Her eyes fell to the floor and his followed. It took him a moment to talk again. "A lot of things happened with my parents, Nora. The winter was worse than I thought it'd be, and there were a few days where I had nothing but time to wait for my older brother to come down to help."

Nora looked back up at him, an eyebrow raised.

"You have a brother?" She asked, that same mirth that he loved finding it's way to her voice. Menta laughed a little, nodding.

"I do. Maybe we should go sit down. Ren deserves to hear it all too." He told her. Nora hesitated, though he wasn't sure why, but she nodded. Stepping off of the counter, he held his arm out, like an old-timey gentleman. She giggled and looped her arm through his, and he lead her into the living room.

There wasn't enough space on the couch for all four of them to sit, even if they'd struggled in a few ways, so Menta decided to stand, his back against the wall next to the TV.

"Gods," He muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I should probably buy another chair to go in here soon, what with all the company."

Nora giggled, but Ren was as stone-faced as ever. There was a bit of a smile on his face, and Menta could appreciate that. Blake, though, was the one who spoke up.

"What happened while you were away, Menta?" She asked, squinting at him. "You're barely recognizable now, not that I mean anything bad by it."

Menta held up his hand, dismissing the statement. "Yea, I had a pretty similar reaction to my appearance in the mirror a few days ago," He commented, rubbing the back of his neck. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he sighed and jumped into the story.

"After I first left, the day when I left my things with Ren, I had a taxi take me directly to my parent's house. They live sorta far away, just outside of Shion. It's not that big a city, but it's big enough. The problem, though, is that the winter hits them earlier than it does us, and it hits pretty hard. Since my parents live just outside the city, they don't have the same protection that they would have if they lived inside Shion. Almost every year, it's my job to go and stay with them for a week or so just to make sure they have things under control."

"When I got there, it seemed like it'd all be just as it usually was. The snow was bad, but it wasn't the worst. Everything in my parents house still worked, and they had enough food to last the winter, so I figured I wouldn't have to worry. A few days in, though, and the snow hit really hard. It barricaded the front and back doors and it knocked the power out. My parents don't have scrolls, they have a landline in their house, but that was knocked out with the snow. I had mine, and all I could think of doing was calling my older brother to come and bail us out."

Nora raised her hand, issuing Menta to look over at her. Once he looked at her, she dropped her hand and tilted her head to the side.

"I'll ask again; you have a brother?" She said, leaning forward as she did. Menta smiled and nodded.

"Yea, he's five years older than me. His name is Timi." Menta told her.

"How come we've never heard of him? Or met him?" She asked him. Menta's smile fell a little and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, Timi and our parents haven't gotten along for a couple of years. Ever since he refused to do what they wanted him to for school, they've all been avoiding each other. Timi and our dad have been holding grudges against each other, but me and mom got over it a while back."

"Oh..," Nora fell silent, leaning back into the chair. She looked back up at Menta sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't wanna bring anything up."

Menta chuckled and waved it off. "Don't worry about it, Nora. It's like I said, I got over it a while back."

She nodded and Menta launched back into the story.

"So, where was I? Right, I had to call Timi and ask him to come and bail us out. The problem with that is, Timi lives all the way in Vale. He's a co-founder for a law firm out there, and he's always busy. I never talk to him, and the only number for him that I had was his work one. I called and got his receptionist, some lady who sounded like she barely spoke English. I struggled with her for an hour and a half before I finally got Timi. Even then, he was in the middle of a big case. Timi knows that I wouldn't call him for anything unless it was serious, but he was fighting against the city itself. To walk away meant giving up the entire case, and I didn't want him to have to do that."

"Despite it, though, Timi gave up the case and flew to Mistral, which was the closest he could get to Shion. From there, he drove to Shion, then to our parents place. He'd brought his partner, Jason, to help out, and they shoveled the snow away to get to the front door. From there, they got me out and we shoveled out the rest of the yard."

"Regardless of the grudge and all that, my dad and Timi were happy to see each other. Then Timi and I suggested that my parents move into Shion and get a small house, just for the both of them. They had been saving up money to move, but they didn't have enough to buy the house that they wanted. So, Timi and I pitched in. The rest of the month was us getting a truck, moving their things into the new house, and helping them get settled. Timi offered to drive me back, but I said no and waited for the taxi instead. Since the snow was so bad, It took pretty much the whole day, and I only got back in a couple hours ago."

Blake shook her head. "You were trapped in the house for a few days?" Menta shook his head.

"Try a week. My parents had enough food, though, and the appliances were old enough to run without power. No hot water, though. That was a pain."

"So what happened to your hair?" Ren asked. It was the first time he'd talked in a while. Menta reached up to grab at it, sneering distastefully.

"My parents were never really a big fan of me dyeing it. They said it looked childish, and as soon as I got there, they made me wash it out," He sighed and dropped his hand back into his pocket. "The cold water from the shower did most of the work after that, pulling out the stray bits."

Nora stuck her tongue out. Menta laughed.

"Don't worry your head over it, Lady Valkyrie," He told her, running a hand over his head again. "I have some boxes of dye in the bathroom. Mind helping me redye?"

She looked up at him with wonder in her eyes and nodded. "Yeah! D'you think I could get something too, like a streak maybe?"

Menta looked over at Ren, his eyes wide. Ren looked back, but he laughed after a second.

"I don't think so, Nora." Ren said, turning to face her. She pretended to put and pushed herself deeper into the corner of the couch. Menta laughed again. Despite Ren's answer, he held a hand up to block his mouth from Ren's view and mouthed out the words 'We'll see'. Nora perked up, but she tried her best to make sure Ren and Blake didn't see it.

Unexpectedly, Nora jumped up from the couch and walked up to stand in front of Menta. He was a whole nine inches taller than her, so it was a bit funny to look at. He raised an eyebrow at her, questioning whatever it was she was doing.

Nora reached up and gently grabbed the side of his face, tilting it to the side and pointing at the scar next to his mouth.

"How'd this happen?" She asked quietly. Menta reached up to gently grab her wrist, but he didn't move her hand at all. Instead, he looked off to the side. Blake was sure she saw a line of pink rush across his face.

"Moving accident. Timi and I were moving something to my parents basement and I slipped on the last stair. The box, it was full of my dad's old woodworking tools, fell open and a knife fell out and nicked me here," Menta moved her hand to where her fingertips were just grazing the scar. He visibly tensed up, but he didn't move any more after that. "It still kinda hurts if I move my jaw too much, or if I spill hot tea on it. You'd be surprised how many times I've done that."

Menta let go, and Nora moved her hand up to his forehead, pushing his bangs apart to touch the band-aid on his forehead.

"And this?" She asked, cupping her hand over it to keep his hair out of the way. "Was this the same accident?"

He shook his head. "No, that was back before Timi came. My dad and I were trying to ram the front door open, but the snow had packed down pretty hard. The wood of the door splintered and reared back and cut me. It was a lot deeper than this one," He gestured toward his mouth. "My mom had to stitch it up. She used to be a doctor, before she retired and all."

Nora's hand drifted from that to his eyebrow.

"And this?" She asked again. There was a slight groove where it had been sliced through; barely noticeable without the right lighting that Nora, fortunately, had behind her.

"Play fighting with Timi," he said, chuckling a little. "A dumb game we used to play when we were kids with sticks, kinda like fencing. We did the same thing but uh...with knives," He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. "It's even dumber than ever, now that I say it out loud.

Nora pouted at him, but she didn't move her hand at all.

"I'm an expert on dumb games, Menta," She commented, finally pulling her hand away and crossing her arms over her chest. "That game is really dumb."

Menta shrugged, flashing her with that crooked smile of his. She didn't waver.

"Well, I won't be playing it much anymore, I know that," He said. Before Nora could respond, Menta stepped around her and threw himself onto the couch, sinking into the cushions with a sigh. "My seat now."

Nora scoffed and made it look as if she was ready to jump on him and fight him for the seat before Blake herself stood up. She and Ren had been watching with rapt interest, and they had come up with a plan.

Blake stretched out her arms and legs, and Ren soon stood with her.

"It's getting late," She said, peering through the blinds out of the window. "Well, technically early. I'd like to go and get some sleep soon."

Ren stood up as well, faking out a yawn. He was tired, so it sounded real enough.

"So would I. Maybe we could come back in the morning?" Ren ventured. Blake nodded.

"That would be optimal," She said in response. Turning to Nora, she raised an eyebrow. "You've been out in the cold a lot longer than us. Do you want to stick around with Menta for a while longer?"

Ren tilted his head in mock thought. "That makes sense. I'd say you stay and get warm, so you don't catch a cold or anything," He shared a brief look with Blake that neither Menta or Nora caught. "After that, I wouldn't mind coming back to get you if you don't want to walk alone."

Menta piped in. "No, that's cool. However it works, I could walk her back over," He put his hands behind his head to relax into the couch. "I have the way to your guys's place burned into my memory. I don't mind her sticking around for a couple hours, if the need arises."

Blake nodded, a smile gracing her face. "Sounds good, then. Ren and I should get out of your hair, then," Blake began to walk toward the door, Ren in tow, when Nora stopped them.

"Well," She ventured, twiddling her thumbs. "Wh-what if I just stayed here for the night, and slept on the couch? That way, you wouldn't have to wait up or anything, Ren."

Pleasantly surprised, Ren gave her a stiff nod. "As long as Menta's alright with it, I don't mind. You're an adult, Nora," He smiled, tilting his head. "You don't need to ask me."

She visibly bristled. "I-I wasn't asking, just..making sure, y'know?" Nora grinned. "But, yea, sure! Is that cool, Menta?" She turned to face him, only to see that he'd laid down on the couch the long way. Rolling her eyes, she walked over and promptly sat on his stomach.

Menta tried to sit up, but failed, and instead coughed his lungs out as his back remained on the couch.

"Y-yea, sure, one hundred percent cool." he managed out through coughs. Nora, purely ecstatic, turned back to Ren and Blake to shoot them both a thumbs up. They were putting their boots back on, but they both managed to return the sentiment.

"See you in the morning then, alright?" Ren called back to her as he pulled his coat on. She nodded, her hair bouncing as she did.

"Yep! I'll make sure to be back in one piece!" She replied.

Ren chuckled and, in the next moment, both he and Blake were out of the door. Nora watched them go, the smile of her face as large as life itself. She felt like she could sit there for a while. Up until Menta began to pat her leg, tapping out.

"Okay, okay. Nora, I give. I can't breathe, please," He complained. Nora rolled her eyes and reluctantly stood up. He took a deep shaky breath before sitting up, brushing his hair out of his face to look up at her. "Cruel and unusual punishment."

She stuck her tongue out at him, plopping down in the free space on the couch now next to him.

"Maybe, maybe," Nora answered, kicking her feet over the side of the couch and leaning onto Menta's back. He didn't seem to notice, though if he did he probably didn't mind. "It's not out of the blue, though."

Menta craned his neck to hear her from behind him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, following suit and kicking his feet up over the other side of the couch. His hair hung over his face annoyingly. "Have I done something wrong?"

Nora perked up a bit, though she didn't move enough to portray it. Her eyes lost focus as she dove into the memories of the past month.

"I called you a lot," She murmured, without thinking about it. She could feel Menta tense up, but he didn't say anything.

After a moment of silence, he sighed, his head drooping forward.

"I know. Staying at my parents place without power, I didn't have a way to charge my scroll or anything," He started. Nora glanced at him, as much as she could anyway, from the corners of her eyes. "Once we got my parents moved into Shion, I found out that I'd dropped my scroll in the snow for a while and it would be un-fixable. I could see the things happening on my scroll, like every notification of you calling me, or the one time Ren called, I just couldn't do anything. Couldn't reply to them, couldn't even read any messages properly. After Timi found out, he bought me a new scroll. I sent a message to both you and Ren, but I guess they didn't come through on your end. Ren got his."

Tilting her head, Nora dug deep into her coat pocket to grab around at her scroll. She hadn't looked at it since she left the movies way earlier that night. Now, though, turning it on and holding it in her hand, she realized she had two new messages and two three missed calls. Both messages were from an unknown number, and one of the calls was from the same number. The last two calls were from Ren.

Her face burned with blush and she sunk down into the couch.

"I-I'm sorry, I guess I...," she fumbled around a bit for the words, sighing reluctantly. "I wasn't paying any attention..,"

Menta chuckled, sitting up and forcing Nora to sit up a bit as well. They were sitting back to back, after all.

"It's alright, Nora. I don't blame you at all, y'know? I just...," He fumbled for the words, the same as she did a moment before. "I honestly got a little worried."

Nora perked up, turning as much as she could to see him. All she could see were the long strands of his bangs, though.

"You were worried? Just because I didn't answer?" She asked. Menta rubbed at his neck, grinning nervously. Nora couldn't see his face, however.

"Not at first. When Ren got here and told me you'd been gone for a while...that's really when it happened," He sighed, leaning down until their heads were parallel to each other. "I panicked a little and offered to go and find you, but Ren told me Blake was already with you."

Pulling her legs down from atop the arm of the couch and hugging them to her chest, Nora sighed, relaxing against Menta's back. He was worried about her. Worried enough to run back out into the cold to find her. A part of her reveled in that fact; the fact that he cared so much. Another part felt guilty for putting him in that situation in the first place. The man at the taxi; it had been Menta, but there was no way for her to know at the time. He looked so different now...and she'd panicked. If she could go back, maybe she'd change what she'd done. Then again, maybe she wouldn't have. Having Blake as a confidant made her feel better, and while she definitely wouldn't be telling Menta anytime soon...maybe it'd happen eventually.

With a smile on her face, Nora sat up and turned to face Menta, sitting on her knees. He fell back, slowly but not slow enough to change it, and his head fell into her lap. Looking up at her, at the smile that she wore now, he smiled himself. Despite the injuries he'd gotten, injuries that would scar over eventually and make him look a little rugged, he felt clean and new, like all the hardships he'd faced were merely a bad dream.

Laughing, he sat up and turned to face Nora, kicking one leg off of the couch and sitting on the other. He grinned at her, his head tilted and his longer hair draping over his face as he did.

"How about we go and fix this hair issue, yea?" He exclaimed, sweeping his bangs up over his head, only for them to fall back again. Sighing, he stood up and offered his hand out to her. "I'm sure if we find a good spot, Ren won't notice a bit of mint in there, y'know?"

Beaming ecstatically, Nora took his hand and bounded to her feet, jumping in excitement.

"Aw yeah! Where d'you think it could go, huh? I was thinking more of like this inside bit here, Ren wouldn't be able to see that, right?" She bombarded him with questions or suggestions as they walked off and into the bathroom. Menta didn't let go of her hand, a fact that Nora missed completely as she went on and on.

Menta popped open the medicine cabinet and pulled out a specialized hair dye set. There were three different bottles, but he only took two from the set and put the other on the counter. He shook the both of them in front of Nora, effectively shutting her up for a second as he dropped them on the counter.

"You're gonna help, right, Lady Valkyrie?" He asked her, leaning onto the counter and putting his head on his hand. She grinned excitedly and nodded.

"Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!" She replied, nearly bouncing out of her own shoes. Menta chuckled, standing up and handing her both bottles. Once he did that, he reached back into the cabinet to pull out a small dyeing brush. Nora raised an eyebrow at it, looking up at him with a questioning look. He looked from her to the brush and then smiled.

"It's for my roots, to make sure the color reaches them," He told her. She mouthed out an 'Ohhhh' before putting down both bottles and then perking up again.

"Alright! So what do I do first?" She asked, enthusiasm just oozing off of her.

"First, we get a lot of towels," He replied, turning out of the bathroom for a minute or so and then coming back with an armful of towels, black gray and white all alike. "I don't want the dye staining anything around here, so we've gotta be careful, alright?"

Nora nodded along and took some of the towels. Menta laid two or three across the counter, a few around the counter on the floor, and then he wrapped one around his shoulders. Then, sitting down on the toilet seat, he looked up at Nora and pulled a regular hair brush from beneath the towel, holding it out towards her.

"Gotta make sure it's all brushed out. I washed my hair last night, just to get ready and all," He told her. Nora took the brush skeptically, holding it a little, she tilted her head questioningly.

"And...you want me to brush it for you?" She asked, her voice low. Menta grinned up at her and nodded.

"Of course I do. I've seen you brush your own hair before," he said, running a hand over his neck. "I trust you to brush it out well, Lady Valkyrie."

She hesitated, not too sure why, and eventually stepped up next to him. She set the brush against his crown and began to brush it out in slow, careful strands. Menta leaned into her touch, smiling and goading her to stop being so nervous about it.

Sighing, Nora tilted his head around constantly, brushing through his dark tresses and making sure to pull away any particular knots or so. None were too difficult, and there was nothing that could lead to any...unintended circumstances or events. No, clearly not.

Eventually, Nora pulled the brush away and set it down on the counter. She checked over his head before nodding, a smile on her face.

"All done, Menta," She said, grinning and stepping back. "What's next on the list?"

Sitting up and taking a deep breath, Menta pointed toward the bottle he'd left in the dye kit.

"I'll need that one now, to spread it around where my skin meets my hair," Nora gave him a questioning look and he elaborated. "It makes it easier to wash off any dye that gets on my skin." Another exclamation of 'Ohhhh'.

Reaching across the counter, she grabbed the bottle and handed it to Menta, after popping the cap off. "D'you need help with that too?" She asked, a little hope finding it's way to her voice. Menta looked up at her, a lopsided grin gracing his face as he nodded.

"A little help never hurt anyone." He replied. He dotted two of his fingers with a bit of the conditioner, and then passed the bottle to Nora and made her do the same. Then, without talking, he began to coat it around his hairline and behind his ear. Nora followed suit on the other side of his head, moving in tandem with him until their fingers touched at the back of his head, just against his neck.

Pulling his fingers away and wiping them on the towel wrapped around him, Menta smiled.

"Okay, now we get into the dirty parts," He said, pointing toward the kit. "I prepared the dye a while ago, and it just sits until I need it. There should be some special gloves in the kit. After we do this part, you'll need to put those on so we can actually get do dyeing it."

Nodding, Nora crossed her arms. "Okay, what's next then, my Mint Knight?" She playfully asked. Menta grinned, seemingly going along with the nickname. He stood, just for a moment, to reach into the cabinet again and take out two hair clips. Sitting back down, he showed her what he had in mind, which was taking one half of his hair and pinning it up with the clip, and then doing the other side.

"This way, it's easier to make sure there are no leftover patches or anything when we're done," He told her as he finally finished and relaxed back into his seat. She nodded again, though she clearly didn't get it completely. "Now, is where we add the dye. Just pour it in close to the roots and use the brush to spread it all in. After it's all in, I have to wait for forty-five minutes before I can rinse it out."

"Why so long?" Nora whined. Menta smiled and gave her an innocent shrug.

"It takes time for it to set, my Lady," He replied, giving her a sly smile. "We can go and do something else while we wait. I'll make sure to set a timer on my scroll."

She pouted, but it didn't last very long. Turning away from him, she sifted through the kit to find the gloves, pulling them on once she did find them, and then turned around with the dye bottle in hand. Menta always used two, a simple bottle of green and then a bleach to go on top to make it mint. The green always went first, and that was how he instructed Nora now. She laid that down first, spreading it in with the brush he'd given her. She went section by section, as he told her, and by the time she'd finished her arms were strained from how long they'd been in the air. Despite that, she smiled down at Menta, who nodded his approval as he stood up.

Pulling his scroll from his pocket, he carefully set the timer and slipped it away, back into his pocket. Turning toward her, he grinned.

"So, we've got forty five minutes until I can rinse my hair. What do you wanna do until then?" He asked her, an eyebrow raised. Nora thought on it a moment, that is, before her stomach decided for her by growling out loud. She smiled, bashfully, but then excitedly said: "Food!"

Menta chuckled, looking at her with endearment in his eyes. Nodding, he turned around and walked out of the bathroom. Before he left completely, though, he reached back into the cabinet to pull out a clear hair cap, which he pulled on over his hair immediately.

Nora giggled, trying to hold in her laugh but to no avail. Groaning, Menta walked past her and into the kitchen, where he promptly cracked open the fridge to see what he had. Barely a minute passed before he sighed, defeated, and shut the fridge.

"I don't have anything here," he said, turning to look over his shoulder as Nora walked in and fell onto the couch again. "You wanna just order out?"

"Ooh, yea! Ren pretty much never lets me order out," She exclaimed, sitting up on her knees again to face him. "How do you feel about chinese?"

"Oh hell yea, I haven't had chinese food in forever," He replied, edging his way out of the kitchen and falling onto the couch next to her. He made sure to be careful with the way the cap moved on his head. "I would love chinese food."

Nodding, she pulled her scroll from out of her pocket and quickly pulled up the only takeout place for chinese food in Oniyuri. Luckily, they were open 24/7, or else Menta and Nora would be starving that night. She quickly put an order of Lo Mein for herself before looking up at Menta with an eyebrow raised. He looked back, tauntingly.

"Lo Mein, all the time, Nora," He said without taking his eyes off of her. With a grin, she put down an extra order for him, and then two orders of egg rolls, because why not. Before she ordered it, though, she looked to Menta with a tilt of her head. He managed to decipher her look and nodded. "I'll pay for it when it gets here. No worries."

A grin graced her face, and Menta was happy to see that she was smiling so much, after what Ren had told him. There was no telling if it would last, but Menta hoped it lasted. Mainly for her sake, but also because...he loved seeing her smile. He just wanted her to be as happy as possible.

* * *

 **So, I don't think I ever mentioned it. But I'm still in school, and for me, school starts in about two and a half weeks. Now, on one hand this is a good thing. It'll encourage me to write more because I'll know of my lack of time. On the other hand, I don't have a lot of time to do so. Maybe I'll try to write a lot more in much shorter sessions, but if that's the case, it means there could be a lot more errors than usual. I'm sorry in advance, but I will indeed try to be as on time as possible with this.**


End file.
